Country Facts: A Town Mouses Guide!

The countryside has long been a source of fascination to writers, artists and other townies. How do you manage? they demand, unable to comprehend how you can exist without a multiplex/Primark/Currys etc. If its not a vanished world of the kind depicted by Wordsworth or Laurie Lee, its the seemingly sweet cover for skulduggery, as in the tremendously popular Midsomer Murders series. That small area is so crime ridden, its a wonder it wasnt razed to the ground long ago. As somebody whos lived in both- in the back of beyond as well as the city- I find it odd but endearing. So in honour of these people who cant cope without their daily latte, I give you ... Country Facts!

1) Despite the majority of Brits living within towns, there are a disproportionate number of books, TV series and films set within grand country houses. Think of Downton Abbey, the current flagship of this trend; Brideshead Revisited, The Remains of the Day and Atonement are all critically acclaimed novels later turned into big movies, the house playing a prominent role. Theyre fantastic settings for thrillers and ghost stories- who can forget Manderley from Rebecca, or the ghost infested Bly from The Turn of the Screw? 2) Whether youre intending to live in the countryside full time or just pay a visit, make sure you observe the Countryside Code. This series of rules and regulations, beginning in the 1950s as the Country Code, offers common sense advice about things as miscellaneous as tidying away your litter and keeping your dogs under control. Second nature, you might think- but not to everybody. 3) Townies often regard farming as a one size fits all activity. In actual fact there are numerous types of farming across the UK, dependent on factors such as soil type, weather and flatness/steepness of the land. The chief kinds are arable (growing crops and cereals), pastoral (breeding and rearing livestock), horticulture (flowers, fruits and vegetables) and viticulture (grapes). 4) Sheepdog trials, where dogs competitively herd sheep around a course, have been running throughout the world for decades. The very first sheep dog trials were held in Wanaka, New Zealand in 1867. 5) If anybody is regarded as a countryside laureate, itd have to be James Herriot, whose tales of the life and times of a country vet captivated millions of readers. The series was a phenomenon: not only has the original practice featured in the stories been turned into a museum, and the books televised, but a diesel train

running past the areas described in the stories was named James Herriot in his honour. 6) Foxhunting has thankfully been outlawed in the UK as of 2004, though its still practised in Australia, France and the US. Oscar Wilde summed up the pointless, brutal sport best: the unspeakable in pursuit of the uneatable. 7) If you say landscape painting, chances are most people will think of the English Romantic painter John Constable. Despite being one of the best loved British artists, he only sold 20 pictures within his lifetime. He lovingly recreated Dedham Vale on his canvases; the areas been known as Constable Country ever since. 8) If you ever capture a squirrel, tread carefully. If its a red squirrel, its an endangered species and thus protected under UK law; its an offence to intentionally kill or injure one. On the other hand, the grey squirrel is regarded as an invasive non-native species and a pest. Its illegal to rerelease a grey squirrel into the wild or allow one to escape- if you ever catch one, you are expected to humanely dispose of it. 9) A cow can only produce milk once she has calved; they produce the most milk at around forty to sixty days after calving. The amounts involved are mind boggling: the average American dairy cow produces approximately 9164.4 kg (or 20,204 lbs) a year. 10)Many parts of the English countryside have their own unique dialect, the West Country dialects being probably the best known. Thanks to the West Country native Robert Newtons performance in the 1950 film of Treasure Island, the accent has become indelibly associated in the popular imagination with pirates!

To find out more, follow these great links!

Simmons and Sons: Simmons and Sons offer peerless services for rural properties. They additionally cover lettings, commercial property and residential sales. World of James Herriot: Are you a fan of the multimillion selling book series? Then this is the attraction for you! BBC: The Devon Dialect Challenge: What are the characteristics of the West Country dialect?