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From Shetland to the Scilly Isles, Open Country travels the UK in search of the stories, the people and the wildlife that make our countryside such a vibrant place. Each week we visit a new area to hear how local people are growing the crops, protecting the environment, maintaining the traditions and cooking the food that makes their corner of rural Britain unique.
Email: open.country@bbc.co.uk
Postal address: Open Country,
91热爆 Radio 4, Birmingham, B5 7QQ.
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This week we find Richard snorkelling off Looe Island, one mile off the south Cornwall coast near Looe. Its real name is St George's Island and it's 22.5 acres of outstanding natural beauty, one mile in circumference. It's unusual for an island, in that it's partly wooded - the island has a surprisingly mild climate. It's normally only accessible by boat, but just sometimes the tide is low enough for people to walk across from the mainland.
It's thought that the first signs of human habitation were in pre-history. There's some monastic remains on a hill there, but in recent years two eccentric sisters owned the island - and they willed it to the Cornwall Wildlife Trust on their deaths. Joana Doyle is the Marine Conservation Officer for the Trust and she and her diving buddy, Jonathan Smith, take Richard out to see some of the marine wildlife which makes the island special - and tell tales of a farting shark!
Back on land, Richard meets up with the island's only inhabitants, Gus and Sheila Ravine. They came on a day trip many years ago and ended up getting to know the Atkins sisters, Babs and Attie. Though not rich, they bought the island in 1965 - Attie (whose real name was Evelyn) wrote two books about their life there - We bought an Island (1976) and its sequel Tales from our Cornish Island (1986 Harrap). Gus and Sheila talk about the sisters and strange tales of the island.
But before the Atkins sisters arrived, the island was better known for being home to smugglers. Barbara Birchwood-Harper is the curator of the Old Guildhall Museum in Looe and she shows Richard some of the smugglers' haunts. Amram and Jocabed Hooper were two of the best known and Richard meets one of their descendents, Mary Philp. It's her first trip to Looe Island since she was a girl and she's brought the family bible over to the island - discovered in her garage, it contains the family records going back to the 18th century and which has helped Barbara put the smugglers' stories together.
But the island now belongs to the Cornwall Wildlife Trust and Callum Deveney, Reserves Manager for the Trust, talks to Richard about the plans to turn the island into an educational resource. But their first task is clearing rubbish from the island and finding out what's there - the coastal grassland is overgrown and they've already introduced sheep to the island to graze it down. Apart from the marine environment, there are important colonies of seabirds on the island and it's important to preserve and improve their habitat.
One of the main problems on the island is rats. Karen Varnham is an Invader Species Biologist who travels the world clearing rats from islands. She says she's just rectifying the problems humans cause when they go onto islands because they introduce species. Rats cause a problem because they are predators - they can cause problems for the population of for example sea birds and their young - puffin chicks, nesting birds. They also eat vertebrates and plants. But Karen's confident that all the rats will be gone by the end of next year.
Email Open Country: open.country@bbc.co.uk
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