Country diary: this landscape has little to offer a shy fieldfare

Crook, County Durham: starving birds lose their inhibitions if apples are available in gardens

The steep climb from the start of the Deerness Valley Way follows the route of an old rope-worked incline where, a century ago, a stationary engine on the hilltop hauled railway wagons up from Bankfoot coke works. Today it was hard work hauling ourselves up the hill, with every footstep sinking into thawing snow that was still knee-deep in places.