Tuesday was officially the first day of spring, and I spent part of it with the area warden for the National Trust in Carmarthenshire, Wyn Davies.

Wyn admits this is his favourite time of the year, and walking around Dinefwr Park near Llandeilo this morning, it was easy to see and hear, why.

'It's the birdsong that immediately makes me realise spring is here' says Wyn, and it's worth getting up early to hear the dawn chorus at the moment.'

'This morning I heard a green woodpecker hammering away at a tree and you can clearly see that many birds are starting to think about nesting now.'

Snowdrops are beginning to make way for primroses which are already out in abundance and the woodland is a carpet of green, signalling the arrival within the next couple of weeks of the bluebells.

Chestnut trees are beginning to bud and there's a real sense that new life is being created.

White park cattle

We also made our way to the field in front of the main house at Dinefwr to see some more new arrivals, the famous White Park cattle, native to Dinefwr, have already produced 6 calves, four pure white and two coloured black and white.

This suggests that somewhere along the line, possibly hundreds of years ago, a black bull was used whose genes are still present in the blood.

There's evidence that White Park Cattle were here in the 10th century and are mentioned in the laws of Hywel Dda.

Today, one of the cows was guarding the circle of new calves while the rest of the herd were grazing nearby.

Wyn also pointed out the crows landing on the cows backs, picking at the loose hairs of the the cattle's winter coats, providing perfect insulation for their nests.

Nature has a way of making sure nothing goes to waste.In the deer park, the fallow deer (first introduced here by the Normans), are getting ready to shed their antlers, while the does begin to think about producing their young.

As a warden, Wyn is busy making sure the footpaths and fences are ready for Easter visitors.

As nature wakes up, it's well worth taking the time to notice the arrival of a new season.

And it's an activity that doesn't involve sitting in front of a screen of any sort. So armed with plastic swords, we descended on Dryslwyn castle at the weekend.

Actually ascended is more like it, as it's a steep climb up to the castle itself from the car park next to the river Towy, but it's definitely worth it when you get there.The view is spectacular down across the Towy Valley.

Dryslwyn castle in the sun.

Cadw who maintain the castle, are carrying out work on one of the main walls, or what's left of it, so the structure is currently covered in scaffolding.

But when you think that the castle has been standing here for around 800 years, it's hardly surprising that it needs the occasional bit of renovation work.

The castle under scaffold.

Dryslwyn is one of the so-called 'native Welsh castles' built by Welsh princes and in Dryslwyn's case, along with its neighbouring castles of Dinefwr and Carreg Cennen, performed an important part in protecting the old kingdom of Deheubarth in South West Wales.

If you're watching the current BBC Wales series, The Story of Wales then you'll know all about this, but there's something about visiting a castle which brings the past to life, helped with diagrams along the route of the footpath, imagining what the castle might have originally looked like.

The castle at Dryslwyn was seized by Owain Glyndwr in 1403 before being finally occupied by the English king Edward 1.

At the end of our visit, the plastic swords didn't make much impact, so the castle is still standing on its magnificent hilltop location, keeping an eye out for other potential invaders.

For more information on visiting Dryslwyn castle, go to www.cadw.wales.gov.uk/daysout/dryslwyncastle

As well as the singing, there were speeches, a buffet and a glass of bubbly to mark the event, with a big crowd to wish the new owners well in their venture.

On a national scale, this may seem like a small event but when you think of how many rural shops and post offices have closed in recent years, it makes Bancyfelin's story all the more significant and heart-warming.

The local male voice choir helped celebrate the reopening of their local shop.

So many villages which once boasted a shop, a school a pub and a post office have gradually lost their local services and don't get me started on the issue of rural transport.

I've tried to think of other villages around the area where I live (Carmarthenshire) and am struggling to come up with names of those that still have a shop.

We can't deny that competition from the supermarkets has put pressure on local stores, but we, as customers must surely take some of the blame too.

We've embraced the convenience of doing our entire weekly shop in one go, driving past smaller shops on our way to the big retailers.

We can't then be surprised when local businesses shut up shop and as the saying goes, use it or lose it.

According to figures from the Rural Shops Alliance, rural shops are closing at a rate of around 33 per month across the UK, with around 12% of independent shops closing last year alone.

Rural pubs are also struggling in these economically challenging times but it's also worth noting that farm shops seem to be bucking the trend, revealing that there can be an alternative to the supermarket giants.

And here again, we have a Welsh success story. The Cwm Cerrig Farm Shop at Cross Hands near Llanelli has just been awarded Best New Farm Shop in the UK by FARMA (the National Farmers’ Retail and Markets Association).

So maybe it's worth thinking about the plight of our local shops and celebrating good news when we hear it.

That's what happened when Troserch woods near Llanelli came on the market five years ago.

Villagers got together, decided they didn't want to see their local woods falling into the hands of private enterprise and applied for a grant from the Forestry Commission to buy all 80 acres of Troserch woods.

After the initial sense of achievement when the money came in, the committee members then realised that they had the small matter of maintaining a whole woodland to contend with.

This week I've been for a walk in the Troserch woods, with the woodlanders, to find out how the project is going.

We started from the car park and passed the 'Christmas tree nursery' where around 200 firs were planted two years ago with the aim of selling them (when they're big enough) to local people.

Lincoln Glover lives next door to the woods and has acquired a chain-saw license in order to get stuck in with the continual work of maintaining the forest.

'We clear-felled a whole section near the river last year and sold the timber, giving us enough money to cover our costs for the next ten years' he told me as we headed down one of the trails through the trees.

Around the next corner we came across the roundhouse, a wooden structure with grass covering the roof, complete with a hole in the top, allowing for fires underneath.

It was made by the woodland members from materials gathered entirely from the forest and offers a bit of shelter for anyone using the woods. Standing on its own, completely surrounded by trees, it looked like something from a fairy tale.

But there is a challenge ahead - getting more people to use the woods and get involved. Most of the committee admitted that not enough people in the area know about the woods on their doorstep, never mind helping out with running the scheme.

Greg Wilkinson, another dedicated committee member said that they understand that people have busy lives and not enough time to donate to helping out, but he also stressed that the health benefits from a project like this are huge.

Llais y Goedwig (the Voice of the woods) is the community woodland network for Wales and they're hosting their annual conference next week.

This year's theme is 'participation' - trying to encourage more people to get involved in their local woodlands and having a greater say in how the environment is looked after in Wales at the same time.

Jokes about tree-huggers aside, there's a lot to be said for getting away from it all by getting back to nature.

Our walk in the woods took us down to the River Marlais, where I was reliably informed otters and kingfishers have been spotted. It was a beautiful place and only a few minutes drive from the motorway.

Sometimes it's easy to miss what's right under our noses.

For more information visit www.troserchwoods.co.uk and www.llaisygoedwig.org.uk

Some years ago, the Welsh Tourist Board used a picture of Barafundle with its deserted golden sands, sweeping coastline and sparkling blue sea as part of its campaign to lure visitors to Wales.

I can remember seeing a poster greeting arriving passengers at Cardiff Wales Airport showing Barafundle in all its glory.

But there was no mention of where this idyllic beach was, which somehow added to the allure.

And then if you did happen to discover its identity, it was quite an adventure trying to find the place, with a conspicuous absence of any road signs to get you there.

I also remember interviewing someone quite high up in the Wales Tourist Board or 'Bwrdd Croeso' as it was also known and them admitting (off camera) that there was an inherent dilemma in trying to promote Wales.

Barafundle beach from the steps looking down.

You have to carefully balance the fact that places like Barafundle (and much of the Welsh countryside), are beautiful and enticing because there aren't too many visitors trampling up and down the mountains, beaches or moorlands.

Then again, you can't have it all ways and a thriving tourist economy is after all, essential to rural Wales.

But back to Barafundle, the National Trust now own much of the Castlemartin coastline, including the car park at Stackpole Quay from where the path meanders up some steep steps, across a couple of fields to the stone wall above the beach.

That's where you get your first glimpse of Barafundle and it's still a stunning spot. The children ran wild across the sand, writing their names on it with pieces of driftwood then running back up the steps to see their artwork from above.

We couldn't resist also proudly writing the score from the weekend's rugby match on the sand!

This stretch of coastline is a haven for ravens and the much rarer choughs (of which there are only around 500 breeding pairs in the whole of the UK) and it's because of the choughs that the area has SPA status (Special Protection Area).

During breeding season, painted red stones mark areas near the cliff edge where walkers mustn't tread, in case they disturb the nests.

There was a steady stream of walkers and families out for the afternoon roaming across the beach, enjoying a rare bit of sunshine.

A pile of rubbish at the bottom of Barafundle in Pembrokeshire.

But it was sad to see a big pile of rubbish at the bottom of the steps, the first thing people saw arriving at the beach. As we left, a man walked past with a small rucksack on his back, the rest of his family already heading back up the steps.

As he passed us, he dropped a plastic bag, bulging with rubbish including glass bottles on the sand, before greeting us with a cheerful 'afternoon' and heading home without a care in the world. I found this genuinely shocking.

What kind of person thinks this is a perfectly okay thing to do? And who exactly did he think would be by later to collect his rubbish?

Maybe I've reached a 'certain age' when I start ranting about litter louts, but it's just wrong on so many levels and definitely not something you could put on a poster promoting tourism.

Monmouth and Brecon canal

A whole year's worth of events marking the celebrations began on 10 February, 200 years to the day when the canal was first officially opened.

The waterway was origianally built between 1792 and 1812 to link Brecon with Newport and the Severn Estuary. It was an industrial corridor for coal and iron, when the Welsh coalfields were supplying fuel to the rest of the world.

These days, you're more likely to see pleasure boats and anglers on the water, with cyclists riding along the towpaths.

The ceremonial bell

Church bells rang out along the route of the canal to launch the start of celebrations from the Pontymoile Basin near Pontypool and I was there to witness the official ceremonial bell being rung by Robin Herbert, great great grandson of Benjamin Hall.

He was a member of three industrial families (the Hall, Herbert and Crawshay families) who owned iron foundries and tramways in South Wales back in 1812. Benjamin Hall also achieved unexpected immortality by giving the name of 'Big Ben' to the bell inside the clock tower in the Houses of Parliament in 1857. He became Lord Lieutenant of Monmouthshire in 1861.

Today, the canal runs for almost its entire 35 mile route within the Brecon Beacons National Park, following the tree lined course of the River Usk. Mark Robinson an ecologist with British Waterways told me that despite its industrial heritage, the canal is now a haven for wildlife including wildflowers, kingfishers herons, dragonflies and butterflies, mallards and moorhens.

Events later this year include the launch of a new beer made locally at the Brecon Brewery. On 31 March the dark ale called Canal Porter will be delivered by horse-drawn dray and narrow boat to the various pubs along the canal's route. Buster Grant the head brewer showed me around the brewery but sadly I couldn't try the new brew because it's not quite ready yet!

You can hear more of the celebrations marking the canal's bicentennial on this week's Country Focus which is still available on the BBC Wales iPlayer.

For more information about celebrations this year along the Monmouthshire and Brecon canal, visit www.breconbeacons.org.

The Ellesmere Sculpture Initiative has commissioned renowned etcher Jason Hicklin who is based in Shropshire and London - to make six stainless steel sculptures which will tell the story of the Llangollen and Montgomery canals' rich history.

At the end of March the sculptures will be transported by 'Saturn' the last horse-drawn Shropshire Union Canal Fly-boat in the world, with the help of volunteers, keen to promote the importance of the area's heritage.

The first of the sculptures will stand alongside the Montgomery Canal at the village of Llanymynech which at one time, back in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, was a hive of industrial activity producing quicklime in various types of kiln from limestone quarried on the hills.

Lime products were used by farmers on the land as fertiliser and by industry to extract iron from iron ore. Today, the Hoffman kiln is a distinctive local landmark, a Scheduled Ancient Monument and a reminder of the area's industrial past.

The sculpture pieces reflect the heritage of the sites in which they sit through the etched drawings and words on the steel.

The sculptures, acting as way markers, will also stand at Chirk, Frankton Locks and finally at Ellesmere. They were inspired by walks taken by the artist along the Shropshire Union Canal last year.

Today, the area is renowned for its natural beauty and it's easy to forget how different it would have looked in its industrial heyday.

Originally, the canal had been intended to provide a link between the three rivers - the Dee, the Mersey and the Severn.

But the canal proved too expensive and never made it past Trevor to the north and Weston Wharf to the south.

The canal did reach The Shropshire Union Canal and Chester by a different route and became a valuable asset for the local economy.

Today Thomas Telford's famous aqueduct at Pontcysyllte still draws tourists from all over the world. It's the longest and highest cast-iron aqueduct in the world and in 2009 it was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

From March visit www.thecanaletchings.co.uk for more information.

The pair of beavers (sisters) were released into their fenced enclosure last November and are being monitored as part of a programme to evaluate possible future releases into the wild.

An American beaver on a grassy shoreline.

The idea was met with some concern initially - the farming unions argued that beavers became extinct in this country hundreds of years ago, owing to the fact that they caused widespread destruction of wildlife habitats.

They pointed to a similar project in Scotland, where beavers managed to escape from their enclosure and were extremely difficult to recapture.

But at Blaeneinion they have a different view. They're hoping to prove that beavers are a valuable native species that are particularly adept at preserving aquatic habitats.

I've been to Blaeneinion this week to see the project for myself. I met with the project manager, Sharon Girardi who is a woman with a mission.

Blaeneinion Conservation Project at Artist's Valley near Machynlleth

She moved to Artists Valley three years ago from the centre of London, with a vision to create a community based on the principles of permaculture - living lightly on the planet, and making sure that we can sustain human activities for future generations to come, in harmony with nature.

They've already planted some eight thousand trees on the 75 acre site, with the help of a small army of 'WWOOFers' (I didn't know what these were either!).

World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms or WWOOF is a membership charity, teaching people about organic growing and low-impact lifestyles through hands-on experience in the UK. People work on the farms in exchange for board and lodgings.

At the moment there are two WWOOFers from France and Australia helping with the planting programme, giving Blaeniniona a distinctly international feel.

A geodesic dome provides winter vegetables, a fruit orchard has already been planted, a bunkhouse offers accommodation for visitors and four other families have also moved in as tenants.

But it's the beavers that are proving to be the main attraction. A feeding station has been built inside the enclosure with plans for two hides in future, where visitors will be able to watch the beavers.

Beavers lodges are created from severed branches and mud. The beavers cover their lodges late every autumn with fresh mud, which freezes when the frost sets in.

What I didn't realise before my visit is that beavers are nocturnal. But then as Sharon pointed out, "Why would you know that? They've been extinct for around 400 years!"

At dusk, we crept into the enclosure and spiked apples onto canes at the feeding station, hoping to lure the sisters out of their lodge.

Originally, before they moved in, great pains were taken to build the beavers a lodge, taking advice from experts and constructing what they thought would be ideal beaver bunkhouse.

But the sisters had other ideas and set about building their own lodge immediately after their release, preferring to show the humans how it's done!

As daylight faded, we took up our positions in the freezing cold, armed with an infra-red camera.

We didn't have to wait long before we heard rustling sounds in the reeds surrounding the lake. It was really exciting as we could tell they were close and could hear them swimming towards us.

At that point, the clouds parted revealing a full moon above us. In the moonlight I spotted a head in the water, with the trail across the lake as the beaver headed for the bank.

We didn't actually see them out of the water and eventually the cold got too much for us, so we headed indoors.

Then again, after being hunted to extinction, you can't blame the beavers for not being in too much of a hurry to get reacquainted with humans.

BBC News: Beavers return to Ceredigion

Despite the glamour and success of his later years, his remarkable life began in far humbler surroundings - in the small village of Ponyrhydyfen in the Afan Forest Park near Port Talbot.

Last year, the local community decided it was high time their most famous son was honoured and came together to create the Richard Burton Trail, a 3 mile walk, taking in some of the places which were important to the man himself.

Today, I've been to the area to walk the trail and was greeted with the sight of the Afan Valley bathed in winter sunshine, with a sprinkling of snow on the surrounding trees and on the Foel, the second highest peak in the Afan Forest Park.

The old mineral line viaduct over the Afan river.

My guide was Jonathan Price, a ranger with the Forestry Commission, working in the Afan Valley. We began in the Rhyslyn car park and walked across the aqueduct, high above the Afan river.

The house where the famous actor was born is under the aqueduct, backing onto the river - a lovely spot, but hard to imagine that a family of fourteen once lived there.

Richard was the eleventh of twelve children and his younger brother Graham Jenkins who still lives in the area, has been involved with the trail project, helping to piece together interesting facts about his older brother's life.

All along the walk, there are special way markers with information about Richard Burton, his life and career.

The first we passed told us that he was born on 25 November 1925 in Pontrhydyfen weighing twelve pounds. This was accompanied by a photo of him in his rugby kit, posing with the team as a youngster.

We passed Penhydd Street where many members of Richard's family lived and on to the Pontyrhydyfen viaduct, another reminder of the area's industrial past.

We joined the Connect2 cycle route to continue on the trail towards the portrait bench and the amazing sight of three life-sized metal sculptures of three local celebrities - Richard Burton, Rob Brydon and Richard ('Dick') Wagstaff, who was the area warden for the Afan Forest Park until he retired last year.

Sculptures of Richard Burton on right, rob Brydon in the middle and Richard Wagstaff on the left.

He was voted in by local people and by all accounts is quite a character. Next to the sculptures is a metal box with a dial.

If you wind the dial, you can hear the unmistakable sound of Richard Burton reading extracts from the works of Dylan Thomas, including 'Under Milk Wood' and the poem he wrote after his father's death, 'Do Not Go Gentle....'.

It's a great idea to 'illustrate' a walk in this way and brings the person and their landscape to life.

It's just such a shame that already, only a few weeks after the trail's official opening, many of the way markers along the route have already been vandalised - many of them have been sawn off, leaving a metal 'stump' behind where the information about Richard Burton would have been.

Jonathan Price, Ranger with the Forestry Commission with a vandalised sign.

Why would anyone want to do this? Jonathan Price was also at a loss to explain this and pointed out that those signs will have to be repaired at considerable cost.

This innovative project has been overseen by Neath Port Talbot County Council and hopes to bring tourists to the area, proving once again that 'green tourism' is the way ahead, but also that increasingly, the tourism industry needs to provide and extra something to draw people into an area.

The trail ends back in Pontrhydyfen, passing Bethel chapel, where the local memorial service for Richard Burton was held after his death in 1984.

Today, the chapel is boarded up and for sale but it stands in a prime location, overlooking the river and the aqueduct where we began and where Richard Burton would have spent much of his childhood.

For more information about this walk visit www.visitnpt.co.uk/richardburton

BBC Wales Nature blog: Richard Burton walking trail opens

If you did, was it something just grabbed on your way out of the door or did you sit down and make a meal of it?

Farmhouse Breakfast Week starts today , providing a perfect excuse to treat yourself to a 'proper breakfast'.

This annual event is organised by the Home Grown Cereals Authority but also supported by the Farmers Union of Wales who are hosting breakfast this week at a number of locations, from the House of Lords in London, the European Parliament in Brussels to Bryncir mart in Caernarvonshire in support of various charities, including Cancer Research UK .

The idea is to highlight the importance of eating a good breakfast and making sure that Welsh produce is part of your morning meal.

Local farm sausages, crispy Welsh bacon and free range eggs, a 'real' loaf of bread and some Welsh butter - you can't deny we've got plenty of choice on offer.

I was invited for breakfast at Gellifeddgar farm at Blackmill near Bridgend last week - occupational perk! - where we recorded the 'Country focus' programme.

The smell hit us as soon as we arrived, wafting across the farmyard. Inside, Gill Morgan was busy at the Aga while her husband Charles finished off his chores outside.

'We always eat a good breakfast' Gill admitted, 'it set us up for the day. And it's something we've passed on to the grandchildren too.'

'So many children don't eat a proper breakfast and need to realise how important it is to help them concentrate and do well at school.'

'Shake Up Your Wake Up' is the theme for this year's campaign - suggesting that if we make small changes to our morning routines, we could make room for a better breakfast.

So get up a few minutes earlier, get out the frying pan, put the sauces on the table and maybe even dust off the toast rack sitting in the back of the cupboard.

Bore da

Wyn has worked as the Area Warden for the National Trust in Carmarthenshire for the past ten years and even though it's winter, there's plenty of work to do.

Wyn Davies, Area Warden for the National Trust in Carmarthenshire.

"This is the perfect time to maintain the pathways, mend fencing and signs and survey for any potentially dangerous trees" Wyn told me as we took a walk around near Llandeilo, "Christmas is behind us, we've had the shortest day and there are already signs that spring is just around the corner. I saw a horse chestnut coming into bud the other day, and a few snowdrops appearing."

Wyn and I walked along a new footpath at Dinefwr - the 'Brown Path', not named after the colour of the terrain, but after the landscape architect Capability Brown, who visited Dinefwr in the eighteenth century and suggested the route from Newton House to the medieval castle, taking in some of the best views in this designed landscape on the way.

We passed a field of grazing White Park cattle, one of our native Welsh breeds which have been here for around a thousand years.

The herd has just been pregnancy-tested and of the 22 cows, 20 are in calf, which means there's a busy spring calving ahead.

We walked on through the deer park, home to around 120 fallow deer. The herd needs to be fed daily at this time of year with sugar beet. In the misty rain today, there was no sign of any deer - they'd taken shelter in the trees.

A fallow deer in the woods at Dinefwr Park by Steve Greaves.

Dinefwr has one of the best collection of ancient trees in the country, with around three hundred trees thought to be more than four hundred years old.

Wyn talked about them as if they were family members, talking about their characters and saying how upset he gets if they lose one in a storm.

As he put it poetically, "In some ways, winter is the best time to see the trees because without their leaves, it's easier to appreciate their structure and majesty".

Through the ancient woodland, we headed down towards the oxbow lakes created by the river Towy.

At this time of year, the lakes are a haven for visiting wildfowl, hundreds of geese, ducks and other migratory birds stopping off in Wales to escape the arctic conditions of northern Europe.

There's a thriving otter population here as well, but no sign of them on our walk.

Finally we headed along the boardwalk, a meandering wooden pathway passing the millpond and paused to admire the Castle Oak, reputed to be the oldest tree in the park.

At around 800 years old, it was quite a sight. Wyn assured me it was also home to thousands of invertebrates, part of the reason that Dinefwr is the only park in Wales designated a national nature reserve.

A really enjoyable walk and a chance to escape the bustle of everyday life and an invitation to revisit Wyn and his work as a warden in the spring, his favourite time of year.

For more information on opening times at Dinefwr visit www.nationaltrust.org.uk/dinefwr

That's the vision behind the charity Fareshare Cymru and I've been out with them this week, seeing how the process works.

We've heard about waste strategies and Government targets to reduce waste - well this scheme fits neatly into part of the plans and the ultimate aim is that Wales should be a country where no good food goes to waste.

It was an early start at the depot on the Capital Business Park in Cardiff where Fareshare Cymru has one of two bases in Wales (the other is in Llandudno Junction) Fareshare has been operating on a UK level for around 20 years now, but only came to Wales last September.

Guy Boswell is the project manager in Cardiff and he showed me around the warehouse where they keep the produce.

There was an amazing variety of foods stacked up on shelves stretching from floor to ceiling - from boxes of pasta, hundreds of tins of hot chocolate which couldn't be sold because the labels had accidentally been printed in Swedish to a whole pallet of after-dinner mints.

They can also stock fresh produce in huge fridge and freezer stores.

We joined volunteer Shelly on a trip in a chiller van up to Abertillery to the Tillery Frozen Foods factory where they had a stack of vegetable moussakas with one ingredient missing from the sauce which meant that meant they couldn't be sold, but are perfectly okay to eat.

With the food on board, we headed back to Cardiff in time to see a huge lorry arrive from Bristol with a delivery from a well-known cream cheese manufacturer.

We then took a delivery of produce to the Huggard Homeless Centre in Cardiff, where around 38 beds are provided for people who would otherwise be sleeping rough.

In the kitchens, the staff were busy making corned beef pasties and explained to us that before Fareshare starting delivering, they were relying on fried foods, but could now provide healthier food for the men and women coming to them for help.

As Guy explained, they need a lot more companies to donate surplus food (he was very firm on stressing that it's surplus and not 'waste').

After all, it costs £58 per ton to take anything to landfill - so it should make economic sense to donate it instead. Also, funding could be a problem in future because without it, the scheme couldn't work.

The whole experience was a real eye-opener, but it also makes you think about just how much food we do waste. And how our demanding shopping habits have created all this surplus in the first place. Definitely food for thought.

You can hear more about this story on 'Country Focus' this Sunday at 7am on BBC Radio Wales.

I was near the village of Brechfa and joined Vaughn Mathews who works with the Wildlife Trust Wales and is currently coming to the end of a three year hare survey of Wales.

It's estimated that there's been a 75% drop in hare numbers in Wales since WWII, but the survey is trying to establish if areas which are being sensitively managed are seeing a resurgence in numbers.

Farmland run as part of the Welsh Government's Tir Gofal scheme is being compared with land which is not part of any agri-environment projects.

We climbed a steep hill, slowly, looking carefully for any signs of hare, but as Vaughn explained, we were unlikely to see any in daylight.

Vaughn Mathews is currently coming to the end of a three year hare survey of Wales.

He told me that most of his sightings have been at dawn or dusk and that 3 years on, he still finds it a thrill to spot a brown hare: "They're just such charismatic creatures," he says "they can be so secretive and then sometimes, you can see them plainly, boxing together or bouncing along a field."

"I've also spoken to many farmers who say they'd like to see more hares on their land and wonder how they can attract them."

Hares are quite choosy though and apparently they don't like to share their living space with rabbits, sheep or people for that matter, and prefer to be around cattle, probably because they don't graze the grass so low.

Intensive farming methods, the loss of mixed farming systems and higher stock levels are all being blamed for dwindling hare numbers.

Vaughn wouldn't be drawn on any of the surveys findings, which are due to be published in the Spring, but he hinted that there could be a few surprises in store.

A hare from our BBC Wales Nature Flickr group taken by Ros Baylis.

After a steep climb, several tricky farm gates and a lot of wading through thick mud, sadly we didn't spot any hares today.

But the Wildlife Trust Wales is asking for members of the public to get involved with the survey, by reporting any sightings of this reclusive animal.

If you're luckier than me and spot a brown hare, you can get in touch with them by visiting www.welshwildlife.org

You can hear more about my hare spotting trip on this week's Country Focus on Sunday, January 8 at 7am on BBC Radio Wales.

Watch a clip featuring Iolo Williams trying to measure the speed of a hare running.

A limit on the number of wind farm developments in Wales, a levy on plastic carrier bags, reform of the Common Agriculture Policy, more delays and deliberations over a proposed badger cull in West Wales, not to mention an Assembly Election and a reshuffle of rural posts in the Welsh Government.

Politically it's been a busy year and all these issues have been hot topics on Country Focus over the past twelve months.

There was also an opportunity to remember the devastation of the Foot and Mouth outbreak of 2001, ten years after the event.

Even a decade had failed to weaken the strength of feelings and bitter memories of such a tough time for the Welsh countryside and in a special programme, we revisited one of the areas worst affected near Brecon and spoke to people affected by the crisis.

Ten years on, there were still tears, anger and frustration at what happened and a general agreement that if the disease recurred, things would be handled very differently.

On a happier note, my wildlife year has included trying to count Kingfishers on the Teifi River (not one appeared, although I did see an otter), spot seals along the Cardigan Bay coastline (again, no luck), travelling to a secret location in deepest Carmarthenshire to try to hear the cuckoo (we heard one) and seeing a dolphin leap out of the water while swimming in the sea off Llangrannog.

But the highlight for me this year was a trip to record a programme on Skokholm Island off the Pembrokeshire coast back in June.

The weather and surroundings were glorious and the sea birds were out in force.Sitting on the cliff tops, only a few feet away from hundreds of puffins is a memory I won't forget in a hurry.

At the time, the warden Jerry Gillham was coming to the end of his first year in the job and is still there, dividing his time between Skomer and Skokholm during the winter months and blogging about island life on Skokholm.

I'm lucky enough to earn my living mostly outdoors and continue to be amazed at how rich and diverse our landscape and wildlife is in Wales.This year, I've walked along parts of Offa's Dyke, the Pembrokeshire Coastal Path and joined the writer and poet Owen Sheers for a walk in the Olchon Valley, setting for his novel, Resistance.

I've no idea where I'll be heading in 2012? But I hope you can join me!

This time last year someone (who will remain nameless) suggested a radio programme which would involve me taking part in the aforementioned event which was celebrating its fortieth year.

Thankfully, the idea never came to fruition and I was able to spend Boxing Day safe and warm at home, as opposed to plunging into the Pembrokeshire sea in what turned out to be one of the coldest winters on record.

Having said that, hundreds of courageous, mad or foolhardy swimmers do brave the waters every year at the Tenby event.

And even last year's eye-wateringly low temperatures didn't put that many people off (they had around 400 swimmers taking part instead of the usual 600).

When I was growing up we often went to see the Boxing Day hunt in the Vale of Glamorgan, even though we were confirmed 'townies' who weren't involved in farming or hunting.

It was just part of the festive tradition and there was something exciting about seeing the horses, hounds and redcoats gathering on a frosty winter's morning.

The ban on hunting with hounds has been in place for six years now, but the Boxing Day hunt remains a firm part of the rural calendar.

According to the Masters of Foxhounds Association, there are meets at Caio with the Cwrt y Cadno Farmers, at Cowbridge with the Glamorgan Hunt and Llandysul with the Vale of Clettwr Hunt.

I'm also planning to attend a local Plygain service at Merthyr Church near Meidrim at 11pm on Christmas Eve.

Strictly speaking, a Plygain was held in the early hours of Christmas morning, sometime between 3 and 6am and was traditionally a candle-lit service held in some of the most remote rural areas and featuring around two hours of unaccompanied carol singing.

The modern-day equivalent tends to be at a more sociable hour but the candles still give a festive feel.

There's been something of a Plygain revival this year, with attempts to keep the tradition alive by teaching people how to sing these traditional Welsh carols.

There's an example of Plygain singing on the National Museum of Wale's website, recorded at St Garmon's Church in Llanarmon Mynydd Mawr back in 1965.

So, if there's a choice of swimming, hunting or singing this Christmas, I know which one I'll be going for!