Country diary: Gorse or gold? Choose your riches | Mary Montague

The Sperrins, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland: These hills might have been spoiled by a mine, were it not for some dogged local campaigning. Instead, we are treated to a blaze of spring flowersAs I drive the Crockanboy Road deep into the Sperrins, my gaze is drawn to the rolling uplands of blanket bog. At each slant of sunlight through the clouds, the tawny heights quiver with saffron and gold. On the lower slopes, the hedgerows are a steady blaze of bright yellow gorse flowers.Crockanboy comes from the Irish, cnocán buí, meaning "yellow hillock". It's a name you could give to each of the Sperrins' undulating curves. These modest mountains are the eroded remnants of huge peaks uplifted millions of years ago by tectonic collisions. Those collisions also forged the metal at the Sperrins' core. In their dark heart, as well as on their sunlit flanks, there's gold in these hills. But which is their true treasure? Continue reading...