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POOLING RESOURCES
Cleveland Pools in Bath is the UK’s last surviving Georgian lido, but after some 180 years of use, it was closed in 1984. Closed, that is, until this summer, when, after a 17-year campaign from the Cleveland Pools Trust, and following a grant from Bath and North East Somerset Council, this elegant open-air pool alongside the River Avon will reopen. A perfect family haven for balmy August days.
GLASSHOUSE UNFOLDING
On warm days, the 10 ‘sepals’ of this astonishing new kinetic glasshouse, on the edge of the National Trust’s Woolbeding Gardens in West Sussex, gently open to reveal a collection of sub-tropical plants. Designed by Heatherwick Studios, the glasshouse sits like a jewel in the Silk Route Garden, with planting influenced by the ancient Asian trading route.
FRAGILE EDEN
A bee explores bugle flowers – part of a new artwork recently unveiled at Cornwall’s Eden Project. The 55m-long Pollinator Pathmaker is a living installation by artist Alexandra Daisy Ginsberg that celebrates the vital role of pollinators. It aims to help visitors see the world from the perspective of insects and the plants they pollinate.
HOPE FOR VOLES
Water voles have been reintroduced to Trentham Estate in Staffordshire. The estate has removed predatory mink, planted thousands of waterplants along a maze of watercourses and prohibited motorised watersports on Trentham Lake, giving this endangered mammal a great chance to bounce back.
SUMMER KNIGHTS
The Legendary Joust at the end of July in the grounds of Kenilworth Castle is one of the great summer pageants put on by English Heritage to celebrate its historic sites. In 1266, this bastion endured the longest siege (172 days) in medieval English history when Henry III attempted to take the castle from rebellious barons. Today’s ruins, however, date mostly from Elizabeth I’s reign.
Walk this way
Three newly vamped trails to explore in 2022
RIVER PARRETT TRAIL
A new lease of life has been given to the much-loved River Parrett Trail, a 50-mile source-to-sea walk that slinks from the Dorset-Somerset border to Bridgewater Bay and the Bristol Channel. At the heart of the revamp was a devoted crew of 15 volunteers, whose main tasks included improving waymarking, basic maintenance on the Rights of Way and checking the route guidance. To get your hands on the trail’s brand new route guides, go to visitsouthsomerset.com.
LANDPORT BOTTOM HISTORY TRAIL
Step back 750 years to the Battle of Lewes, an event that laid the foundations for parliamentary democracy. The South Downs National Park’s new Landport Bottom History Trail guides walkers on an audiovisual journey through stunning downland and beautiful Lewes, before navigating Landport Bottom, where the battle between rebel barons and King Henry III’s forces was fought on 14 May 1264. As you walk, watch six short films on your phone, each telling the story from a different perspective. southdowns.gov.uk
HEREFORDSHIRE TRAIL
Developed in 2004 by the Herefordshire Ramblers, the 154-mile Herefordshire Trail, relaunched this summer, links all five of the county’s market towns and picturesque villages. New apple way-makers guide the route along cleared pathways. Find new suggested itineraries, download maps and the best places to stay at visitherefordshire.co.uk
On the plot
Jobs for the garden with Rekha Mistry
Amazing August, oh how I rejoice you as the final colour curtain falls upon the plot. Suddenly, it seems, every plant wants my attention, throwing out blooms to entice my gaze. My regimented, energised movement, ticking off tasks around the plot, suddenly becomes a slow-paced walk as I stop to admire, touch, feel, smell and take photographs to remember the glorious summer.
August, you astound me with your daily harvests. It feels like a race to gather fresh produce, with preserving tasks aplenty in the kitchen. The smell of vinegar wafting around is a sure sign summer’s end is in sight.
This month, of all the harvests, I look forward to digging out curvaceous onions the most. Every bunch of onions picked is laid in the potting shed to dry before storing. Onion bed cleared, I now sow an overwintering green manure (fast-growing plants sown to cover bare soil).
Before I can put my feet up and bite into my chocolate courgette cake, I quickly snip off leaves around the hidden winter squashes to help start the fruits’ ripening process. Chillies continue to produce flowers, so I will continue to feed them. As August bows out, I sow cauliflower and onion seeds, with wishful thoughts that September provides us with an Indian summer.
Rekha Mistry is a garden writer and recipe developer. Discover more kitchen-garden inspiration at rekhagardenkitchen.com
ID guide
Heather in bloom
In August, the heaths of lowland England and the moors of Wales, the north and Scotland become a shimmering sea of purple, created by billions of tiny heather flowers. There are three common species of heather, all tough, low-growing shrubs needing acid soils, each with subtly different features and habitat preferences. Words: Phil Gates
HEATHER
Heather or ling (Calluna vulgaris) is the most common species, with pale purple flowers arranged in spikes. Rare, white-flowered plants are said to bring good luck. Leaves grow in opposite rows, greyish and downy when young. Shoot tips are the favourite food of red grouse, so grouse moors are systematically burned to promote new soft growth, regenerating from the roots.
BELL HEATHER
Bell heather (Erica cinerea) is often the first species to flower, from the end of May onwards. It has intensely purple, bell-shaped flowers with four teeth, larger than those of ling, arranged in a spike along the main shoot and at tips of side branches.Its dark-green leaves with in-rolled margins grow in whorls of three with clusters of smaller leaves at their base. Drought-tolerant.
CROSS-LEAVED HEATH
Cross-leaved heath (Erica tetralix) is sometimes known as bog-heather because it favours waterlogged patches in higher rainfall areas. Leaves have downy grey hairs and grow in whorls of four. Rose-pink, globular bells bloom at the shoot tips. It is often part of a specialised flora in wet moorland flushes, alongside sphagnum moss, sundew and heath spotted-orchid.
Get involved
The Mammals on Roads survey collects records of mammals, dead and alive, on the UK’s road network, which in turn helps us find out crucial information about the status of our nation’s mammals. This year, a new app has been created to help with the count. #MammalsOnRoads, ptes.org
FREE FAMILY FUN
Save some pennies this summer with these exciting events
1 Nairn Highland Games, Highland, 20 August
Discover one of Scotland’s most famous Highland Games on the shores of Moray Firth. Expect pipes, the caber toss and a tug-of-war.
2 Hereford River Carnival, Herefordshire, 26–27 August
Sing, dance, make carnival costumes, eat great local food and have fun messing about on the Wye at Herefordshire’s biggest feel-good community event.
3 Our Place in Space, nationwide, until 16 October
This epic scale model of the solar system, designed by artist and children’s author Oliver Jeffers, is 10km long and incorporates an awe-inspiring three-dimensional sculpture trail. The unique collaboration of art, science and technology has already wowed Belfast and Londonderry. Next on the intergalactic journey is Cambridge (30 July–29 Aug) and North Down in County Down (17 Sept–16 Oct).
Tune in to the Plodcast
A Taste of the Countryside
The Plodcast is the award-winning nature and countryside podcast presented and produced by the BBC Countryfile Magazine team.Editor Fergus Collins is your host, so join us each week as we head off into the wild outdoors in search of adventures and stories.So far we have created more than 150 episodes to help you escape into the countryside you love.
We have recently launched a new season of the Plodcast – A Taste of the Countryside – which comprises 14 episodes celebrating food and farming in the UK. We want to tell the stories of how the very best producers work alongside nature and the environment. The first four episodes are ready and waiting for you to discover them:
Episode 1 Embark on a fishing and foraging expedition for wild food in Assynt in northern Scotland.
Episode 2 Explore a traditional Devon dairy farm, home of award-winning Cheddar cheese.
Episode 3 Join the judges of the British Pie Awards in Leicestershire as they search for the ultimate pastry-encrusted wonder.
Episode 4 Explore a marvellous wildflower haven on the edge of Dartmoor and discover how vital healthy soil is to the future of farming.
bbccountryfile.podlink.to/plodcast
Countryfile on TV
BBC One, 31 July
Surrounded by the rolling hills of the Grampians, Blairgowrie in Perthshire, known as Berry Town, is the birthplace of Scotland’s fruit-growing industry. John Craven meets Peter Thomson, a former raspberry farmer, who recalls the annual picking heyday; from age 10, he picked fruit on the family farm to pay for his school uniform.
Meanwhile, Margherita helps to plant a living roof and learns of Blairgowrie’s plans to become Scotland’s first biodiversity town.
A taste of August
TOMATO AND CHEDDAR CHEESE COBBLER
August is tomato season.And while many of us are happy slicing and adding tomatoes into salads and sandwiches all summer long, there comes a point when you might want to turn the oven on.Heat transforms fresh tomatoes into something sensational.Add a cobbler topping, a scone by any other name, and now you’re really talking. Drop the cobbler in haphazardly, allowing the juicy, molten tomatoes to peep through, the cobbler turning all crisp and golden.Contrast is everything when it comes to a good cobbler.
INGREDIENTS
• 2 large shallots, or use one small onion, peeled and thinly sliced
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped
• 30g butter
• 800g tomatoes, sliced 2cm thick
• 1 tsp fresh thyme leaves, or use 3 fresh sage leaves
• 150g sour cream, or use crème fraîche
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 180g self-raising flour
• 120g butter, cold and diced
• 100g Cheddar, coarsely grated
• 60ml milk
• 3 medium eggs, beaten
• 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
METHOD
1. Preheat the oven to 180°C.
2. In a large ovenproof frying pan, cook the shallots and garlic in the butter over a moderate heat for three to four minutes to soften. Add the tomatoes, mixing well to coat. Cover and cook for about three minutes to soften a little.Uncover and continue to cook for two to three minutes, until the tomatoes have released some of their juices.Add the thyme and sour cream, and season well with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Remove from the heat and keep to one side.
3. It’s now time to make the cobbler topping. In a food processor, pulse the flour and butter together, enough to form fine breadcrumbs. Alternatively, you can use your fingers to mix the flour into the butter. Add the cheese and pulse briefly. Tip the mix out into a bowl and make a well in the centre.
4. In a mixing jug, add the milk, eggs and mustard and beat to combine.Add the wet ingredients to the dry in the bowl, stirring swiftly to combine.Don’t overmix it, as this will toughen the cobbler topping.
5. With a dessertspoon, drop spoons of the batter on to the tomatoes in the pan. Random is good; leave a few gaps.
6. Bake in the oven for 35 minutes until the cobbler topping is crisp and golden and the tomatoes are bubbling beneath. Remove from the oven and serve immediately – add some more mustard for extra flavour.
Claire Thomson is a chef and food writer. Discover more seasonal recipe ideas at 5oclockapron.com