A note from the editor

Those who read this letter regularly may recall that a few months back I decided to keep a nature journal. It’s been an absolute tonic, allowing me to chart the changing seasons. Last Sunday’s entry focused on the beauty of skylarks. We’d headed off for our usual dog walk, up the muddy track towards the woods, and I had nothing but our impending kitchen renovation on my mind. Suddenly, my husband John cut through my musings with, “Look at the skylarks – listen to them singing!” It was extraordinary to both hear and watch them hovering over the newly sown crops, rapidly flapping their wings before swooping down to the soil and then starting the process all over again. John said they reminded him of his childhood in Yorkshire and made him feel nostalgic about the times he used to walk across the fields to school.

In our celebrity profile this month (page 36), the colourful and charismatic Owain Wyn Evans (below left) talks about ‘hiraeth’ (a sense of nostalgia and homesickness) and how delighted he is to be coming home to Wales to helm the first weekday Radio 2 programme to be broadcast outside London. Like me, Owain loves walking in the local countryside and relishes the way it “forces you not to think about the kinds of things you’d be thinking about at home”. Another of our contributors who delights in the distractions of nature is the distinguished naturalist Patrick Barkham. He celebrates two of my favourite heralds of spring – badger cubs and bluebells. Turn to page 98 for his affectionate tribute.

Finally, it wouldn’t be April without Easter eggs and this month’s artisan feature on page 54 is all about how the inspiring team at Salcombe Dairy evolved from being a local ice-cream maker to producing delicious bean-to bar chocolate (below right). They’re also one of the newest sellers on our Country Living Marketplace (countrylivingshop.co.uk).

Wishing you all a happy Easter break, when I hope you might enjoy some time with nature as well as eating chocolate!