Country diary: insects still find sanctuary in the priory ruins

Kirkham Priory, Malton, North Yorkshire The skeleton of a building offers respite from a biting wind and a final home for the last of the summer’s waspsIt is one of those season-hinge days when the slightest atmospheric whim might swing it either way. There is some warmth in the intermittent sunshine and autumn’s colours are still bright, but the wind is pure north and it carries smatters of cold rain. The river is swollen, with violet reflections in oxtail-brown water – an omi