Country Life
BY IAN NIALL THE National Parks and Access to the Country- side Act of 1949 is one of the blessings of this decade so far as walkers are concerned, and the latest benefit conferred on those who love the mountain country of Wales is the 168-mile path to link the Clwydian range of the north with the Black Mountains of the south by way of Offa's Dyke. There are forty-five miles of new rights of way to be created before walkers can make the complete journey, but no doubt the details will be completed before long. The National Parks are the playground of a popu- lation that fluctuates according to the season, and consists largely of weekenders, who enjoy a freedom impossible a generation or two ago when much of the land was private property reserved for game. There are still hares on the mountains, but grouse are much more scarce than they once were. By way of compensation, the walkers who take the mountain paths can watch the buzzard sailing and hear the curlew and the raven while they look into hazy dis- tance, with the knowledge that they are free to walk near the clouds and no one will bar the way. It is a pleasant thought when freedom often seems an intangible thing.
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