By Nicholas Rhea

At the end of each year, I have developed the practice of assessing correspondence received during the previous twelve months in an attempt to assess the topics featured in this column. I hope to determine which created the most interest. This can sometimes persuade me to continue or develop a particular topic – for example, local dialects seem to be of constant interest along with unusual aspects of wild life.

In this modern world, my correspondence comes in the form of good old-fashioned letters but is now supplemented by emails with the occasional phone call. Sometimes I am recognized in local towns where I may be subjected to a discussion about some subject or other in the midst of a busy market or over a bar lunch.

I welcome such interest because it does prove that life in the countryside is of continuing interest, especially to those who live in towns or suburbia. There have been occasions when impromptu discussions of this kind have made me realise how little time some people actually spend in the countryside – many merely pass through en route to another place, usually with little time to stand and stare or notice something of interest.

Their view of the wonderful natural features of this region is sometimes assessed whilst travelling in cars, buses and trains - once I had a call from a reader who had seen what he described as a large brown bird taking flight as his Express to London passed through open countryside.

I suggested it might have been a very lucky pheasant.

Our wild birds are always of interest and a feature of the previous year has been the noticeable absence of cuckoos. Usually, I hear the cuckoo locally or during my springtime outings but not last year – I neither heard one nor saw one. Usually I receive calls and letters from others who have either heard one or seen one but during last year, I received only one such report.

It does suggest that the famous call of the cuckoo may now be a rarity and suggested reasons include changing agricultural methods, a loss of habitat and even a reduction in the number of foster parents due to long term effects of pesticides and land development. An English spring without the call of the cuckoo is difficult to imagine.

Other inhabitants of our islands have prompted correspondence – they include corncrakes and wild birds in general but especially relating to RSPB nature reserves in this region where an amazing range of species can be seen. We are fortunate to have access to such sites – the last time we visited Saltholme on Teesside, we were rewarded by the visit of a fox who was more interested in titbits from the café than any wild birds.

The past year has also witnessed an increased interest in butterflies. This was due to the remarkably hot summer which resulted in some species spreading further north than their usual range. One turned up in our small lounge where it rested on a window pane as a result of which I noticed it whilst I was in the garden. It remained long enough for me to take a photograph as I could not immediately name the species.

It was a Speckled Wood, a small dark brown butterfly with lighter speckles around its wings, the outermost of which on both wings have dark centres that look like eyes. No doubt these are a a defensive device although the pattern of the wing patches can vary from region to region.

As far back as the 18th century, this butterfly was known as the Enfield Eye because it was so closely associated with rural Middlesex, but over the years it spread across much of southern England. In recent years it continued to spread across the south-west of England and into Ireland, although there was also a small population on the west coast of Scotland. Now, it seems, it has spread further north.

The second interesting species is the Marbled White, of similar size with a dark, almost black background with white patches. For this reason it was once known as the Half-Mourner because its colours were like those of clothes worn by a woman in half-mourning, the period after full-mourning when only black was worn.

Not long ago, these butterflies would be expected to live only in the south-west of England although it was once claimed they might be seen further north in warmer weather. York was generally regarded as the northern limit but this summer one was seen on the southern boundary of the North York Moors National Park, some twenty miles north of York. Maybe it was lost, or maybe it had bred so far north.

More interest in nature was revealed by references to wild flowers, particularly rarer species that have long thrived in the wilder regions of upper Teesdale. Fortunately these are subjected to legal protection. It is often the case that if such rare flowers are transplanted in cultivated ground, they will die through lack of nature’s ingredients that enable them to thrive in the wild. This also happens with apparently ordinary flowers such as the wild daffodils of Farndale whose bulbs will not survive in domestic gardens or plant pots.

From my correspondence, it is evident that readers enjoy reading about the history and charms of local places whether something ancient like a castle or church or merely a wonderful view with something of interest to explore or examine. Fortunately this region is rich with such places, enough to keep the ardent traveller busy for years! They range from the astonishing history of Durham Cathedral to the fabulous views from Sutton Bank Top near Thirsk, via the wonders of the Durham Hills, Yorkshire Dales, North York Moors and splendid coastline.

We were treated to a free show of Yorkshire when our region was visited by the Tour de France, a spectacle that exceeded all hopes and expectations both in this country and overseas. The splendour of our scenery was enjoyed by huge TV audiences around the world and by thousands who lined the route at key points to cheer on the riders.

To summarise – as we head into the uncertain future of another New Year, we have lots of which we can be proud!

Twelfth Day

Although celebrations of Christmas and New Year are now but memories, there is more to follow. In former times not long ago, the most festive of the Twelve Days of Christmas, especially in the north of England, was January 6. Known as Twelfth Day or in Christian terms as The Feast of the Epiphany, it marked the end of festivities.

It honours the day when the infant Jesus was revealed to the world by the Three Kings sometimes called Three Wise Men. By tradition, the Christmas decorations are removed on January 6 whilst across our former Dales border, it was customary in Brough, Westmorland to carry a burning holly tree through the town. As it blazed, youths tried to grab a branch and carry it to a pub to be rewarded by a free pint of beer. No-one seems to know how or why this custom began.

A happy and prosperous New Year to all readers.