It’s May – the early purple orchids should be coming into bloom on Wenlock Edge. It’s a fine dry evening – lets go and see…

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It may well be a bank holiday, and there’s plenty of sunshine too, but there’s no-one else out on foot today. Not around Church Preen, anyway…

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A fine cold sunny morning, perfect for a short leg-stretch in the valley of the Severn. We’ve timed it well – the sky is cloudy now, just a short time after lunch. The Met Office was right!

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It looked like it would be brighter earlier in the day, if not especially sunny. We’ll head for Benthall and the woods along the Edge. The woodland path passes through a wonderful 3D landscape, created partly by the trees but largely by Benthall Edge itself, with a steep drop to the left and numerous remnants of old quarries.

At the troll’s bridge, all we can hear is birdsong and the gently glugging of the tiny stream below – listen to the sound clip below…

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Thursday 20 April: The sky is blue, the fields (several of them anyway) are bright yellow – the oilseed rape is in bloom. It’s not quite a classic English landscape, but it’s dramatic. The brilliant yellow makes it feel like the sun’s shining on the cloudiest of days. We’re walking from Barrow, across the fields to Wyke and back, on a very pleasant afternoon.

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Wednesday 19 April: at about 5.20pm, on what had been an unremittingly grey day, the sky cleared – we’re going out to enjoy the sunshine (and very fresh air… It’s not warm) for an hour or so, across the fields to Colemore Green, and back past the fishing pools and Astley Abbotts.

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A minor variation on a regular route – up Scots Lane and down the track past Linley church, visiting the green man on the north wall. The oilseed rape is coming into bloom – we can smell it (and no, ‘scent’ wouldn’t be the right word) as we cross the field to Bould Lane. Further along, the blackthorn blossom is brilliant white against a clear blue sky. It’s a colourful walk today!

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A teatime walk – same route as yesterday, but anticlockwise. The views are different, and so is the weather: after a showery day, the sky is mostly blue, the air is clear and the sunshine bright. I pause beside the pool to tie a bootlace, foot on the fence, startling a previously-unseen duck. A passing walker asks if I’ve seen what’s below me – no fewer than eight eggs (he’s been watching the spot for a day or two). A very quick snap and we’re on our way – we will look forward to ducklings…

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We wandered around Willey not quite four weeks ago (see Seasonal Signs), noting signs of the developing season, subtle then but striking now. There are primroses in great profusion, as expected, now complemented by the first bluebells, garlic mustard and ladies’ smock. The world is becoming colourful!

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