Forward and back…

By February, it gets harder to be upbeat about trudging through cold, damp, short days of mud. Though I love winter moods, I begin to yearn for bright skies, warmth and butterflies. So it’s a good time to be looking ahead and planning spring and summer breaks – hence our 10-page trip to South Devon. Here you have wild cliffs, golden beaches and charming seaside villages, but also a hinterland of timeless coombes and river valleys where crowds fear to tread. Indulge yourself in vintage Devon on page 18. But this month we’re also looking backwards. On page 56, Viking expert Eleanor Barraclough reveals the impact that Norse marauders made on our landscape and rural culture, which still reverberates over 1,000 years later. Eleanor explains why this is; and how to find Vikings in modern Britain.

Vikings were viewed as a medieval apocalypse and apocalypses are explored in an unusual feature on page 30. Here we ask: where would you escape to in the countryside if modern society fell apart? It’s a fascinating pub discussion that will make you look at the landscape in a very different way.

Lastly we look back to 2017 to celebrate the very best of the countryside in our annual awards. We launched the awards back in November and have put all of your nominations before our judging panel. Now it’s your chance to vote on the shortlists in all 10 categories.