TOMORROW is the feast day of St Medard and in parts of rural Yorkshire there used to be a saying that if it rained that day, it was "St Medard watering his colts". Elsewhere, there was a similar saying that if it rained on St Medard's Day, it would rain for a further 40 days, and that the period until St Barnabas (June 11) would not be anything like a real summer, being cold, wet and miserable, more like winter.

St Medard is the patron saint of brewers, peasants and prisoners, and he is invoked for fruitfulness in child-bearing as well as richness of crops and harvests, including vineyards. He was a native of Picardy in France, being ordained a Catholic priest when he was 33 and eventually becoming Bishop of Vermandois in AD 530.

Later, he was transferred to the see of Noyon, and is known as St Medard of Noyon. The weather lore on his feast day is linked with that of St Protais, which occurs on June 19 - it is also said that if it rains on St Protais' feast day, then there will be rain for a further 40 days.

Although these sayings are both linked to France rather than England, they do feature in our weather lore, the latter perhaps being more widely used in the areas nearer the English Channel. But the St Medard saying raises a query. In this case, what are colts? Are they some kind of crop or could they be young horses in need of water?

A TRIP across the ancient and famous bridge at Croft which spans the River Tees as it separates Durham from North Yorkshire, reminded me of the old custom which took place on this bridge. Each time a new bishop was appointed to the see of Durham, he was formally presented with the falchion which, according to legend, had been used to kill the ferocious Sockburn Worm.

It was always presented by the senior member of the Conyers family who lived at Sockburn Hall, and the presentation was made in the middle of Croft Bridge. This custom ended in 1826 when County Durham ceased to be a palatinate, and the falchion is now in the library of Durham Cathedral. But in 1973 the tradition was revived when Dr John Habgood became Bishop.

Sockburn was, and probably still is, the most southerly part of County Durham, lying to the south-east of Darlington on a loop in the River Tees not far from Great Smeaton, which is in Yorkshire. It is said that in 1799 the poet William Wordsworth and his sister Dorothy stayed with their Hutchinson cousins at a farm in Sockburn, William here falling in love with Mary Hutchinson, who later became his wife.

The main feature of this tiny place is Sockburn Hall, once the home of the mighty Conyers family, and it is also the focus of a folk tale which rivals that of the famous Lambton Worm, also of County Durham, and similar giant worms from the northern part of Yorkshire, such as the Sexhow Worm, the Serpent of Handale, the Nunnington Worm and the Slingsby Serpent.

The Sockburn Worm was another such creature, a huge ferocious dragon which made terrible screaming noises as it attacked the people and animals in the vicinity, terrifying the neighbourhood. Nothing could stop this monster from stealing the livestock of the farmers and like other giant worms, it also showed a liking for pretty maidens, but when all else failed, the brave and gallant Sir John Conyers of Sockburn Hall came to the rescue with his famous falchion. This is a slightly curved sword whose tip is wider than the part near its hilt.

With his trusty falchion in his hand, he fought the mighty dragon near Sockburn church, and a boulder, known as the graystane, marks the spot where he defeated the evil creature. For his bravery, Sir John was awarded the lordship of Sockburn, and thereafter it became the custom for the Lord of Sockburn to present the falchion to the new Prince Bishop of Durham as he entered the county via Croft Bridge to take up his appointment.

Croft has more claims to fame - it was here that the rector had a small son whose life in and around the village, and especially near the church, provided the inspiration for Alice in Wonderland. That small boy was Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, who used the pen-name of Lewis Carroll for his books but the church is full of memorials relating to a glorious past.

Among them are the tombs of the Clervaux family, said to be "third cousins of the kings of the house of York", and also the Millbanks, of whom one of the ladies married the poet, Lord Byron. It is said that Byron spent his honeymoon nearby, and that another regular visitor to the church was the railway king, George Hudson. One of the richest men in Yorkshire, he is said to have sat with his back to the parson during the service, while Mrs Hudson raised her parasol during the sermon.

In the past, Croft was known as Croft Spa due to health-giving waters found nearby, and Croft Spa Hotel featured pump rooms, baths and a verandah for visitors to enjoy as they took the waters.

In its heyday, Croft was regarded as being equal to Harrogate for the quality of its sulphurated springs.

I HAVE received a note from the Newcastle office of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds to remind me that the famous puffin cruises have resumed. They started last month and continue until July 6, with sailings from Bridlington aboard the Yorkshire Belle. The sailings pass the spectacular cliffs at Bempton on Flamborough Head which is the finest site on mainland Britain so far as nesting seabirds are concerned, being home to some 200,000 birds. The sailings are on selected weekends - tomorrow at 4pm; Sunday, June 16, at 9am; Saturday, June 22, at 4pm; Sunday, June 30, at 9am; and Saturday, July 6, at 4pm.

Although these trips are known as the puffin cruises, many other species can be observed such as kittiwakes, guillemots, razorbills and, of course, the famous gannets.

In spite of the attraction of these other seabirds, it is the wonderful clown-like puffins which draw the crowds. This year, more than a thousand are expected to nest on Bempton Cliffs, each pair laying a single egg in a crack or fissure in the cliffs.

This year, the RSPB is organising free guided walks to help visitors observe these quaint and very popular birds. The walks are every Wednesday at 2pm until July 31, starting from the reserve centre at Bempton.

For more information and details of the puffin cruises, which last about three hours, you can visit the web site at www.eymg.freeserve.co.uk or telephone 01262 850959, or you can send a stamped addressed envelope to RSPB Seabird Cruises, 11, Cliff Lane, Bempton, Bridlington, East Yorkshire YO15 1JD. Advance booking is recommended.

For more information about the guided walks, contact Ken Proud at the Bempton Cliffs reserve on 01262 851179 or 851533.

AT A recent outdoor event, a ladybird appeared to show unusual interest in my rucksack and this prompted an equal show of interest from my four-year-old grandson who was with me.

I explained to him just how pleasant and useful ladybirds could be, especially in the garden, and then we tried to persuade it to leave the rucksack as we had to move to another location. Gently, we placed it among the undergrowth - but moments later, it returned to the rucksack.

On some three or four occasions, we removed the persistent little beetle and placed it among some convenient vegetation and then, finally, we moved, without our passenger but with my rucksack on my back, to a new location about a hundred yards away. There we were reunited with other members of the family who had been doing a ladies-only charity walk but when I took my rucksack off my back to obtain some drinks, there was the ladybird sitting on top, having hitched yet another free ride.

Perhaps it refused to leave because I did not quote the old verse "Ladybird, ladybird, fly away home, your house is on fire, your children will burn."

But I did not think that was a very nice thing to say to such a charming hitchhiker