Fields full of sunshine! The oilseed rape is in full bloom: colour when the skies are grey, brilliance when the sun shines. Yes – though cold, it’s sunny for a while, but as we near the start at Cound Guildhall, there are a few spots of rain in the wind.

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Not a warm one, but the light’s lovely – just right for a stroll along Shirlett Lane to the chocolate gate and back…

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Colemore Green and Boldings pools: the oilseed rape is in bloom, and the fish in the pools are up at the surface, warming themselves in the sunshine (and keeping well out of the way of the anglers).

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“How about the walk from Tigger’s Ickle Shop?” It’s a wayside stall offering various and varying home produce – tempting cakes, pickles, eggs and vegetables. We’d better make sure we have some coins for the honesty box… It’s a very pleasant afternoon for a walk around these quiet lanes – Corvedale is particularly attractive at this time of year.

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Blossom in the trees, oilseed rape in the fields, and in the hedgerows bluebells, stitchwort, garlic mustard, lords and ladies – they’re all there! It’s a fine morning for a walk down Stanley Lane, along the old railway line and up through Chestnut Coppice (it’ll rain later…)

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Mid-April – the trees are coming into leaf. The brilliant green of new growth catches the light, and there’s some warmth when the sun shines. Can we put winter behind us now? Perhaps a little less rain too? Please!

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It’s a fine morning – sunny, warm, new growth everywhere. Looks like staying dry for a few days too – at last! It’s certainly springlike around the Willey lanes.

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A day that’s neither warm nor cold. It’s not clear, but neither is it misty. The sun’s there, but it’s not going to shine. A nothing day? Hardly, but I’ve heard such days (perhaps with a spot of drizzle) described as ‘soft’ (it’s most certainly soft away from the road surface….). Yes, a ‘soft day’ could be a good description. It’s certainly pleasant out and about at Shirlett.

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