Country diary: Gunnislake, Tamar Valley Barges that carried coal, corn, manure, granite, bricks and lime had to be hauled manually upstream against the current

Country diary: Horton-in-Ribblesdale, Yorkshire We used to collect white-clawed crayfish in jam jars to study, but now, like my old school, they are a species in need of protection

Country diary: Stamford, Lincolnshire Rock you grasp, fighting its cold indifference. Trees you take hold of, hoist yourself into, embrace, balance on

Originally published in the Manchester Guardian on 2 December 1916: When the night frost melted with a slight shift of wind a touch of green came across one of the lower plough-fields