Why is it that the traditional flower-rich hay meadow, once such an everyday sight, now so rare, seems to express, more than any other landscape, the soul of the English countryside? Today, when most of us would have to make a special visit and travel many miles to see one, the meadow may be less of a physical presence than a folk memory, a dreamy place of tall grass and wild flowers, willow pollards and thick hedges, haycocks, sweet scents and happy country folk drinking cider.