WILLIAMSON'S WEEKLY NATURE NOTES

Round the maybush, through the coppice, past the yew tree and under the oak. I have found these paths of elves many times before, always at the end of July and in early August. Then the little people vanish and all I see are the deer again.

Well, that is how my ancestors, and yours, would have seen it in that far-off age of innocence centuries ago. There are now more fairies than ever before because roe are everywhere and they all have to mate now.

The buck has been obvious for some months now, if you know how to interpret his fraying stocks. Along the rides here, we see coppice twigs mauled of their bark, and the earth scratched with his front cleaves as he leaves scent marks. By July's end, she has begun to get interested, too.

He attends her as she comes on heat, following her patiently if not doggedly, finally rousing her into a steady trot.

For full feature see West Sussex Gazette Aug 1