A Year in the Woods: Montalto Through the Seasons

‘The knockings of autumn are making themselves heard in the rustle of the leaves and whistle of the chilly wind. Spiderwebs are festooned on hedges and a spider is poised at the centre of one. In the fleeting morning sunshine the webs light up in twinkling displays.’

Recovering from surgery, Paul Clements and his wife, Felicity, spent a year in a remote cottage in the woodlands of Montalto Estate, Co. Down. Through the lens of a curious observer and a budding bird watcher, Clements describes...