READING THE LANDSCAPE
Four hundred generations have
created the landscape of Cornwall. From the forest clearances of Mesolithic
Man to the wholesale suburbanisation undertaken by Computer Man. In between
evidence of occupation by Iron Age settlers, Celtic farmers, medieval villagers,
Elizabethan landlords, and Victorian entrepreneurs are all easily seen in
the ring forts, the field systems, the nucleated settlements, the grand houses
and the impressive railway bridges and viaducts that dot the countryside.
Understanding the impacts and changes that have been made to the countryside
over the years helps us to understand how it appears today. It also gives
us a tangible glimpse of how people lived and worked in the past. Field shapes,
sunken lanes, ring forts, villages built on converging roads, hedges and isolated,
stone built farm buildings all tell a different tale, a tale which if it could
be read would describe the evolution of the land and give us a feel for its
history and an appreciation of how it should be managed in the future. Driving
along country roads provides a cross section of countryside history. 
A
sunken lane tells of an ancient routeway along which cattle were driven to
market as far back as the 16th century. A sinuous S shaped field shows us
how that field was once ploughed by oxen needing a wide turn and which over
the years evolved a particular, energy efficient shape. An isolated parish
church, with no obvious settlement nearby from where to draw its congregation,
tells of the effect that the Black Death had in the 14th century, or maybe
the economic climate in the 17th and 18th century when whole communities left
the land to seek employment in the towns and cities. A large, big boled, many
stemmed tree tells of an old boundary, a cluster of big granite boulders on
the slopes of Bodmin Moor indicates a long gone Bronze Age hut and the earth
mounds between which scrubby bushes grow in deep trenches tells of an Iron
Age ring fort.
Being able to read these signs really helps one to enjoy the countryside and also to understand why it appears as it does today. These signs are an important part of our heritage and we must realise their value before they disappear and with them the opportunity for future generations to read the landscape.
THE MARINE ENVIRONMENT OF NORTH CORNWALL
North Cornwall has a very wide range of marine plants and animals - the result of converging warm and cold currents. These currents bring with them different marine visitors that are able to survive in the rich, clear waters of the South West. The beaches and cliffs of North Cornwall are very exposed to the full power of Atlantic waves. This has a great effect on the inhabitants of the seashore. Life for them can be very harsh. Seashore life flourishes on large rocky reefs, like those at Polzeath. These provide a stable platform amid the ever shifting sands and are home to many plants and animals. Rocks also provide shelter for other mobile animals in the many cracks, crevices and overhangs. Sand, acting as a scourer when washed around in the waves, will also affect the types of wildlife living on the shore. This sand does harbour some very important life of its own, though much of it is too small to see!
ECOLOGY
We are concentrating on the wildlife found on the seashore exposed between tides - the intertidal area. This area is almost completely natural and as yet unspoilt by man. The most important influence on the wildlife here is the movement of the tides which vary daily in size and in the times of high water, fluctuating around an average or mean height. The largest tides are known as 'spring' tides. The higher a tide comes in the further it goes out. These changes are complex but consistent and a cycle of tides occurs every month, in rhythm with the phases of the moon. This regularity, combined with the action of waves, creates very distinct and often easily visible 'zones' of wildlife on the seashore. The zones represent the changing conditions up the shore, from marine to nearly terrestrial, and can often be seen as distinct bands of colour. This occurs in only a few metres and can be equated to the gradual changes seen up a mountainside. Further descriptions of zones appear on the cards and can help you find and identify marine wildlife. Although all seashore wildlife is dependent on the sea for survival many species can only survive under certain conditions. Some wildlife at the very top of the shore may be covered by the tide for only 1% of the time. On the other hand, at the bottom of the shore, wildlife may be covered for 99% of the time. Those that are uncovered must survive blistering temperatures in summer and freezing temperatures in the winter. They must like salt, but cope with heavy downpours of rain. They mustn't dry up, or drown when the tide returns. Due to the power of the waves animals must be able hold onto the rock and plants must be flexible but strong. There is no soil for plants to grow in, all their 'food' comes from the constantly moving water. They do use the sun to grow - through photosynthesis - like plants on land, but they must do this with far less light. As on land, the sun is fundamental to life in the sea. Microscopic seaweeds, or algae, grow in vast numbers in coastal waters. These form the basis of nearly all food chains in the sea.
WILDLIFE OF THE BUDE CANAL AQUEDUCT
The mosaic of habitat of wetland, scrub and hedges mean a rich wildlife area. In spring plentiful primroses, cuckoo flower and early purple orchids are enjoyed by early butterflies such as brimstone, orange tip and green-veined white. In marshy areas there will be masses of frog spawn among the kingcups as chiffchaff and willow warbler announce their arrival. Sand-martins and swallows herald summer. Marsh cinquefoil and bog bean give colour to the canal bed and resting sites for numerous damselflies and larger dragonflies. Blackcap and grasshopper warbler join resident buzzard and nuthatch. As summer goes on, hemp agrimony, purple loosestrife and angelica buzz with bees and hoverflies. Colourful peacock, common blue and silver washed fritillaries flit along the path. Animals are difficult to see but fox, badger and deer are frequent but only a pile of fish scales may indicate the elusive otter.
North Cornwall 2002 - Atlantic Heritage Coast