Tower and Town, July 2015 (view the full edition)Editorial: What's Going On In These Green Hills?As we all know, Marlborough is set in a magnificent and ancient landscape. We look up to the Downs every day. Even the geography of our High St, with its steep lanes climbing away from the river, derives from the river valley where earlier people chose to found the town. And when we leave Marlborough, by car or by bus, we are immediately in the midst of the rolling hills. From the road, in between town and villages, the landscape can look rather empty. But, of course, it is not. Quite the contrary. The stunning visual effect is the result of centuries of farming - of man growing hiscrops and tending his animals - although the technology and economy of farming has changed beyond recognition, even in the last 50 years. Nonetheless, the panorama of field and meadow would be familiar to our ancestors. But, as agriculture has changed, so has the life of the Downs developed. New uses are found for pockets of land as new businesses, activities and leisure pursuits have opened up. While Chris Musgrave tends the vastestates of Temple Farm, continuing the ancient agricultural tradition in a totally modern and increasingly sustainable way, in Yatesbury, on the site of a disused RAF airfield, there is a well-established flying school. In Ogbourne St George, on the site of a disused dairy, Sonia Wright has set up her plant nursery and holiday accommodation. At Chiseldon, on the crest of the Downs, the owners of a traditional farm have diversified into a stylish farm shop and cafe near the M4 exit. And, dotted all over the area, in villages and more remote rural areas, many in converted farm and industrial buildings, are the studios of artists who open their doors to all of us during the month of July. The Marlborough Downland is a busy place in July. We should be thankful, as we delight in its beauty, that in its folds and broad stretches, there are ingenious and imaginative people who continue to make such good use of our beautiful landscape. Sara Holden |