"I went to Cornwall last summer, courtesy of the National Trust, to see some of its conservation work. Among the many delights we were shown was the Lizard, Cornwall's ecological showpiece. As befits the most southerly point in Britain, it houses our only populations of some species more at home in warmer parts of Europe. It also hosts what are sometimes called 'Mediterranean pools'. Then, a few weeks ago, I visited the New Forest and found even more Mediterranean pools."