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SNOWSTONE COAST
A rare fall of snow at West Bay in Dorset dusts the mighty sandstone of East Cliff with white icing. These crumbly golden cliffs reveal ancient sea levels from 175 million years ago; the horizontal banded layers are formed by harder and softer deposits of Bridport Sand, with each metre of cliff taking 20,000 years to form. Known as the Golden Gateway to the Jurassic Coast, West Bay represents the western end of the vast, 18-mile-long Chesil Beach. www.countryfile.com
ETHEREAL CASTLE
Built on islands in a lake formed by the River Len, Leeds Castle has a fairytale beauty. The present building dates to the 19th century, but a castle has existed on the site since 857 and has often housed royalty, including Edward I and Catherine of Aragon. To the confusion of tourists, the castle is located in Kent, near Leeds village.
CIRCLES OF LIFE
The small purpley-blue orbs of slime mould (Lamproderma scintillans) sporangia grow in woodlands, on forest detritus, such as here on the edge of a decaying leaf. It is a relatively rare mushroom, and although its main season is from February to the end of November, it may make an appearance in milder mid-winters, too.
WINDOW OF HOPE
A female kingfisher (Alcedo atthis) dives into an ice hole to fish. Freshwater ices over during hard winters, leaving kingfishers vulnerable, and many birds die while others move to estuaries or seashores in search of water. This kingfisher is making the most of a small hole in the ice on a frozen lake in Leeds, West Yorkshire, to catch prey.
EPIC ADVENTURE
Resembling a fantastical landscape conjured by JRR Tolkien in The Lord of the Rings, the Three Sisters of Glencoe loom above the River Coe on a blustery day in the Highlands. The ‘sisters’ refer to the three ridges – Beinn Fhada, Gearr Aonach and Aonach Dubh – on Bidean nam Bian, a Munro that rises at Glencoe’s southern end and, at 1,150 metres, is the highest mountain in Argyll.
Get involved… 27–29 JANUARY
Big Garden Birdwatch 2023
The world’s largest garden wildlife survey returns this January, with hundreds of thousands of people watching and counting the UK’s garden birds. In 2022, nearly 700,000 people took part in the RSPB’s Big Garden Birdwatch, counting 11 million birds. The results provide a snapshot of how garden birds are faring in the UK, and this year the wildlife charity is hoping for even more participation.
On 27, 28 or 29 January, set aside just one hour, find yourself a bench in the park or a comfy chair overlooking your garden and watch and record the birds you see, then send your results to the RSPB. rspb.org.uk
WORDS ON WINTER
“Winter, then in its early and clear stages, was a purifying engine that ran unhindered over city and country, alerting the stars to sparkle violently and shower their silver light into the arms of bare upreaching trees.”
From Winter’s Tale by Mark Helprin
This month on the Plodcast
Mindful escapes
NEW SEASON!
The Plodcast is the nature and countryside podcast from BBC Countryfile Magazine. Join us as we explore beautiful landscapes in the company of fabulous wild people. Episodes to look out for this month:
Episode 171 Learn birdsong in the New Forest with naturalist Dominic Couzens.
Episode 172 Join the quest to find the rare corncrake on the Hebridean island of Tiree.
Episode 173 Wander the Anglesey coast in search of seals – and tranquility.
bbccountryfile.podlink.to/plodcast
Countryfile on TV
BBC One, 1 January
In this episode focusing on rural heritage, John Craven meets 100 hedgelayers from across the country, who are going chainsaw to chainsaw in the market town of Wallingford, Oxfordshire, to see who will be crowned the National Hedgelaying Champion. Meanwhile, in Cornwall, an army of volunteers construct the world’s largest Cornish hedge labyrinth.
Make do and mend
HOW TO DARN SOCKS
Learn how to repair holes in your favourite winter socks with this simple mending project
You will need: ball of wool; darning needle; scissors; darning mushroom (or a similar round object, such as a tennis ball, light bulb or orange)
New series!
MAKE DO AND MEND
Over the coming year, we’ll be bringing you practical tips on how to repair your clothes and kit, saving you money while helping the planet.
1 Pick a wool that matches the thickness used to make the sock. Push the darning mushroom inside the sock and position it beneath the hole. Thread the darning needle (or regular needle for a thinner wool/ thread) then make the first stitch in one corner of the hole.
3 Re-thread the needle, then weave it at a right angle along the edge of your first square – under, over, under, over. When you return the thread, make sure the weave is reversed, passing over where you previously went under to create a mesh.
2 Run your first stitch from one edge of the hole to the other, being sure to create some overlap between the stitch and the existing sock material. Return the stitch, then repeat across the hole to create a panel. Cut the end of the wool then trim away any loose material.
4 Repeat this process until you reach the other side of the square. Cut away any loose wool. You can iron your mended patch to flatten it out. Now slip your socks on and put your feet up in front of the fire to admire your work.
CAMPFIRE WARMER HOT CHOCOLATE
There’s something extremely comforting to be found in a cup of hot chocolate. Somewhere in the midst of its sugariness lie milky memories of childhood, winter, dogs by the fire, rattling windows, coal smoke, story books, toys, cuddles and sleepiness – at least, that’s what I get, anyway!
You can infuse the milk with a few broken shards of cinnamon, a bashed cardamom pod, some torn bay leaves or a few strips of orange zest, but I tend to keep things as they were. This recipe can be made on the hob in the kitchen or on a campfire, it doesn’t matter which – it will be delicious either way.
MAKES 3–4 cups
INGREDIENTS
• 1 litre whole milk or oat milk
• A small pinch of flaky sea salt
• 200g fair trade chocolate, 70% cocoa solids
• 2–3 tbsp of sugar or honey
METHOD
1. Pour the milk into a medium-sized saucepan, add the salt and place it over the embers (or hob) to warm. Break the chocolate into small pieces and drop it into the milk. Keep stirring as it comes to a simmer.
2. Taste the hot chocolate and add just enough sugar/honey to sweeten.
3. Allow the hot chocolate to sit for five minutes off the heat before giving it a final stir and serving.
Recipe from Outside: Recipes for a Wilder Way of Eating by Gill Meller (Quadrille £30).
ID guide
WINTER FOSSIL HUNT
On beaches around Britain, with a bit of luck and patience, you can unearth a creature that lived millions of years ago, says Hermione Cockburn
Winter is the best time to hunt for these natural treasures, as stormy seas churn up beach sediments, creating a ready supply of new fossils just waiting to be discovered. Here are eight common fossils to look out for. How many can you find this winter?
AMMONITES
Ammonites and their beautiful, coiled shells are extinct animals that lived in shallow seas more than 65 million years ago. Their fossilised shells were once thought to be petrified serpents and known as ‘snakestones’. They range in size from millimetres to more than a metre in diameter.
BELEMNITES
Belemnites are extinct squidlike creatures. Unlike living squid, they had an internal pointed shell called a guard and it’s this 5–15cm bullet-shaped fossil that today can be found on beaches along much of southern and eastern England. The name ‘belemnite’ comes from the Greek for dart or javelin.
SHARK TEETH
Sharks have been around for more than 400 million years and although shark’s cartilage skeletons rarely fossilise, the teeth are one of the most common fossils. They are usually about 2–3cm long with a shiny point and a rougher, arc-shaped base. Some of the best places to find them are in Essex and Kent.
CRINOIDS
Crinoids are sea creatures that are often called ‘sea lilies’, as they look like flowers. They are connected to the seabed by a stem made of small plates, with soft branching arms that filter food from the surrounding water. Crinoids still live in the ocean but were more abundant and diverse in the past.
BIVALVES
Bivalves are molluscs, with two hinged shells that cover a soft body. They are common throughout the fossil record. One particularly distinctive fossil bivalve is the extinct Jurassicaged oyster Gryphaea. Their gnarly shaped, grey or black shells are about 5–10cm long and known as ‘Devil’s toenails’.
ECHINOIDS
Fossil echinoids – or sea urchins – are usually a few centimetres wide and, like modern-day species, most would have had spines, but they are rarely found attached. Beaches along the southern coast of England, particularly with chalk cliffs, are a great place to hunt for them.
CORALS
Corals are marine animals that secrete a hard skeleton below a soft, anemone-like top part. Various types of corals feature throughout the fossil record, meaning they can be found in many places. As fossils, they can look like a honeycomb in a rock or individual ridged cones 2–3cm wide and 5–10cm long.
TRILOBITES
Trilobites are oval-shaped buglike creatures that bear a passing resemblance to giant woodlice. Many different species lived on the ocean floor from about 540–250 million years ago. Their hard, outer shell, or exoskeleton, was shed periodically as they grew and most trilobite fossils are pieces of a moulted shell.
Hermione Cockburn is a fossil enthusiast, former Coast presenter, and scientific director at Dynamic Earth, the UK’s only science centre dedicated to the story of our planet.
Top five ways to…
USE YOUR OLD CHRISTMAS TREE IN THE GARDEN
On the Twelfth Night – the last day of Christmas – many of us will be taking down our Christmas trees and leaving them out on the street ready for collection. But did you know these prickly spruces, firs and pines can be used in your garden to help wildlife and save money? Here’s how to use them…
1 Make woodchip mulch
Put your tree through a shredder (hire or borrow from a friend), stack the chips at the back of the garden for a few months to rot down, then use as mulch around trees and shrubs.
2 Build climbing frames
Strip the longest, sturdiest branches, store them somewhere dry, then use them in summer to support climbing plants, such as beans and hops.
3 Create a shelter for wildlife
Cut the trunk and branches then stack them somewhere in your garden. They are a great refuge for bugs, small rodents and other wildlife.
4 Lay a dead hedge
The branches from your tree (and neighbour’s trees) can be woven between vertical posts to create a wildlife-friendly boundary.
5 Craft a bird feeder
Cut a length from the trunk of the tree and drill it with 2cm-wide holes. Stuff a suet and bird-feed mix into the holes and hang it in a tree.
DON’T MISS
SEASONAL CELEBRATIONS
Three traditions to celebrate this month
31 December
HOGMANAY
Scotland’s New Year celebrations span three spirited days of music, dance and fireworks, and include the singing of Auld Lang Syne at midnight on 31 December.
17 January
WASSAILING
This pagan custom of singing to fruit trees – spiced cider in hand – is believed to encourage a good harvest for the year ahead. Why not try it in your own garden?
25 January
BURNS NIGHT
The legacy of 18th-century poet Robert Burns is so great that the Scot’s birthday is still celebrated today. Mark the occasion with supper and recitals.