The Cuckoo Calls on Brat Tor glorious Dartmoor

Walking over High Down and Brat Tor on glorious Dartmoor, not far from Lobhill farmhouse, I heard the cuckoo for the first time this year!

All through the early summer months, since childhood, I would listen out for this great birdsong hearalding the beginning of summer.

An old rhymn describes the cuckoo’s time in Britain before it flys back to southern Africa.

In April I open my bill
In May I sing night and day
In June I change my tune
In July far far I fly
In August away I must

An old wive’s tale states that the number of times a maiden hears the ‘cuckoo’ will be the number of years she will wait to find her true love …

And if you have money in your pocket you should turn it over on hearing the cuckoo, for good luck until you hear the cuckoo again.