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    Ian Morton

    Ian Morton

    After some decades in hard news and motoring from a Wensleydale weekly to Fleet Street and sundry magazines and a bit of BBC, Ian Morton directed his full attention to the countryside where his origin and main interests always lay, including a Suffolk hobby farm. A lifelong game shot, wildfowler and stalker, he has contributed to Shooting Times, The Field and especially to Country Life, writing about a range of subjects.

    The mysterious Wistman's Wood, an ancient stunted pedunculate oak woodland high on the Dartmoor moorland, Dartmoor National Park.

    Moss: The 350-million-year-old plants that turn the unsightly 'into things radiant of beauty'

    Moss is fascinating, ancient and bizarre, and grows so slowly — an inch per quarter of a century — as to make glaciers look positively speedy. Ian Morton finds out more.

    • Blossom of an Elder tree Sambucus nigra

      The history of the elder tree: From deities and dryads to Shakespeare and J.K. Rowling

      Does our love of a tall glass of elderflower cordial speak of an ancient connection with the tree itself, wonders Ian Morton.

      By Ian Morton Published 11 June 19

    • A pair of magpies

      Curious Questions: One for sorrow, two for joy – but why are we so superstitious about magpies?

      Superstitions swirl around all manner of different birds, but never more so than with magpies. We take a look at why.

      By Ian Morton Published 19 January 19

    • daisy

      Delights of the daisy: The tiny flower with huge charm that's entranced artists for centuries

      We all love a daisy chain, but there’s more to this humble flower than meets the (day’s) eye, discovers Ian Morton.

      By Ian Morton Published 6 May 18

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