Country diary: A heathery summit and a bumper apple harvest

Kit Hill/Tamar Valley: So heavy is this year's crop that branches have split and broken from Improved Keswick, Belle de Boskoop and Hambling's SeedlingAt the onset of autumn, the pinks and purples of bell heather and ling, with the bright yellow of gorse, continue to colour rough land on Kit Hill. Below and all around this vantage point, cattle and sheep are scattered across the patchwork of pastures, interspersed with pale brown stubble of valuable grain and straw, taken back to barns for winter keep; enclaves of fodder beet and maize have still to be harvested and carted away by specialist contractors.Just visible, among the dark network of leafy hedgebanks and steep woodland, are the tall church towers of St Dominic, South Hill, Linkinhorne, Stoke Climsland and Sydenham Damerel. Granite used in their construction was most likely excavated from shallow workings on this prominent outcrop - the nearest source of durable stone. We marvel at the determination involved in transporting the stone miles downhill, centuries ago. Continue reading...