Country diary: A ghostly old canal enlivened by primroses and stitchwort | Anita Roy

Langford Budville, Somerset: The endless rain here has felt portentous, but it is bringing colour and sound to the banksides and hillsSigns and wonders. Portents and omens. A walk along an old canalway can stretch the imagination just as effectively as it can the hamstrings. I find myself reading the land like you might read a palm or tea leaves, looking for signs of what's to come.It's been more than 150 years since this section of the West Deane Way was part of the Grand Western Canal, but today, after all the recent rain, it feels like the ghost of the canal is rising up again. Shifting seasons, record-breaking wetness, unseasonal warmth - weather is no longer a simple fact but a series of symptoms, clues to the cause, signposts to the future. Continue reading...