Country diary: prickly or bitter, wild lettuce is thriving

Woodwalton Fen, Cambridgeshire One magnificent specimen is a metre-wide rosette of oar-shaped leavesStorm Brian has eased, but the gusts still rustle the sallow, alder and willow leaves and sway the reeds. The firmament transforms rapidly from broken ashen blankets to a solid leaden layer and then a blue sky with fluffy white clouds. We strike south through a wooded area of the fen, towards the low sun glittering through the trees. A fallen birch trunk hosts many Fomes fomentarius, a heavy-duty