The View
1 New national parks on the horizon
Plans are afoot in England, Wales and Scotland for new designations. In England, the government has announced it will honour its manifesto pledge to create another national park and is set to launch its location search early this year. The Chilterns, Cotswolds and Dorset were all recommended for recognition in 2019, making them frontrunners. The Scottish government has pledged at least one new park by 2026 with nominations currently open and early expressions of interest from 10 areas including Galloway (below), Lochaber and Eilean a’ Cheo (Skye and Raasay). In Wales, which hasn’t had a new national park since 1957, the government is focusing on an area in the north-east, spanning and expanding the Clwydian Range and Dee Valley National Landscape.
2 Walking moves centre stage
Behold Ye Ramblers is a new play by Neil Gore that tells the story of the Clarion Ramblers, Edwardian pioneers who promoted healthy outdoor pursuits, organised expeditions to the moors around Sheffield and campaigned for the right to roam. Music comes from the The Clarion Song Book and the show kicks off at Sheffield’s Lantern Theatre on 27th Feb, then goes on tour; townsendproductions.org.uk
3 ALL HAIL LICHEN AND MOSS!
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Researchers on the Great Wall of China have discovered that lichen and moss are helping to preserve the structure. Instead of destroying the monument as many previously thought, the ‘biocrust’ is protecting it from erosion by wind and rain and insulating it from extreme temperatures. Just another reason to admire these cryptograms on your next walk.
4 Dorset has giant sea monsters
It all began on a walk near Dorset’s Kimmeridge Bay, when Philip Jacobs discovered a fossil on a beach. It was the snout of a pliosaur, a ferocious marine predator known as the T-rex of the seas. The 150-million year old fragment was too heavy to carry, so Jacobs contacted fellow fossil expert Steve Etches and the two moved it safely to Etches’ museum in Kimmeridge. The cliff was surveyed by drone and a team working on ropes high on the crumbling rockface unearthed the rest of the skull – six feet long, lined with 130 razor sharp teeth and one of the most complete ever found. The extraordinary discovery has been made into aBBC documentary with David Attenborough: watch Attenborough and the Giant Sea Monster or walk the Jurassic shore yourself and see the skull at the Etches Collection (theetches collection.org).
5 Find True North with Johnny
Folk musician and CW contributor Johnny Campbell releases his unique new album True North on January 26th. Each track was recorded on the summit of one of the
