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DAWN SENTRY
Somerset’s Glastonbury Tor is silhouetted against the rising sun as mist drifts below. Seen from Walton Hill, the scene captures the mystical allure of the site, which has ancient links to Celtic mythology, particularly the legend of King Arthur, and remains a focal point of summer solstice celebrations. Jutting atop the Tor is a roofless stone tower; all that remains of 14th-century Church of St Michael.
SLEEPING BEAUTY
Renowned for its roses, Sissinghurst Castle Garden is the legacy of writer Vita Sackville-West and her husband, diplomat Harold Nicolson, who saved the Elizabethan property from ruin. Following Vita’s death, 60 years ago this June, the garden was given to the National Trust and remains one of its most-visited properties.
NIGHT CROSSING
Fans of hazelnuts, berries and insects, the hazel dormouse is rarely seen due to being both nocturnal and scarce. To boost its numbers, the People’s Trust for Endangered Species is opening a dormouse bridge over a railway between Cumbria and Lancashire, linking a population reintroduced last year with one due to be released this June.
CHEQUERED HISTORY
Restricted to damp grasslands in western Scotland, the small, pretty and fast-flying chequered skipper butterfly died out in England in 1976. This year, enthusiasts can see the rare butterfly in Fineshade Wood in Northamptonshire, thanks to Butterfly Conservation’s work. Catch our podcast: countryfile. com/podcast/butterfly-forest
TREE LOVE
This relaxed shot of Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh in Balmoral in 1972, their silver wedding anniversary year, reveals the delight the pair took in the great outdoors.
To honour this love of nature, the Woodland Trust is inviting landowners and people to ‘Plant a Tree for the Jubilee’ in order to establish dozens of 70-acre woods nationwide to mark the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.
NATURE NEWS
Peak District birds soaring
Moorland bird populations in the Peak District are rising, shows new research, with waders such as lapwings (pictured), golden plovers, curlews and snipe doing particularly well. Data from the past 16 years, gathered by conservation partners, including the Moorland Association, National Trust and RSPB, revealed that of 37 species surveyed in both 2004/5 and 2018, 25 species increased in number, and 19 significantly so. Curlew numbers have risen by 36.7%, while golden plovers have experienced an increase of 23%. Conservation efforts, including the creation of a mosaic of vegetation and
