Once Upon a Time in Cumbria...

Once Upon a Time in Cumbria there lived a farmer. He had a young wife with whom he tenderly tended the land. One day she fell very ill and could no longer help out with their daily duties.

Sadly she soon died, much too young, and before any heirs had been born. Heartbroken the farmer decided to dedicate the rest of his life to creating a lasting memorial to his love and, through many hard Lakeland winters he struggled and toiled building his symbol of eternal love. Once he'd completed the huge dry stone wall boundary he filled it with a woodland of her favourite deciduous trees.

Now, as her spirit sits on her favourite fell top, she is reminded of his devotion as this huge green heart returns her gaze from the opposite fell.

Today I had a difficult job that brought back the full horror of the Foot and Mouth epidemic. I grieved as I strode over the burial ground where half a million animals were needlessly slaughtered and buried. On my drive home I had to find something else, a tale that would cleanse my mind of the day. This tale, told to me by an old Ullswater farmer several years ago helped heal my mind.