March mud. After a long wet February, it feels like an age since the paths were dry enough to walk without the suck and squelch of mud. Mud that has sometimes been deep enough to rise over the top of my boots, and mud that tests every muscle in your legs. It's a different kind of walking; when all of your energy goes into the next step and all of your focus goes into staying upright.
But with the arrival of March, a hint of blue in the sky and the crocuses beginning to push through the sodden ground, it is - at last - beginning to feel like spring is around the corner.
So, with a hopeful heart, we set of on a short circular walk.
Starting at The Aspinall Arms in Mitton, we walked along the River Ribble to Edison Bridge, passing the caravan park and miniature steam railway, before crossing the river and stopping for a drink at the pub.
The walk back took us along the road at first, and then across saturated fields to join a footpath running alongside Malkin Lane.
Here we encountered a wonderful sight. Thousands of Starlings, some in the trees above, but most - a large flock - carpeting the field In front of us. We heard them before we saw them, the noise was incredible. And then a brief moment of complete silence before they took off, as one, rising into the sky, swooping and swirling into patterns and waves, before regrouping and coming to land in a different field. They repeated their murmurations several times before returning to the treetops to communicate their glee loudly.
Hoods up (a lot of starlings can make a lot of mess), we passed beneath the chattering mob and continued along yet another muddy path to Great Mitton, pausing to wander around the church yard of All Hallows, a beautiful medieval church which has been welcoming worshippers since 1270.
We wandered back to the Aspinall; past the stunning Great Mitton manor house and over the 18th century stone bridge, back to Little Mitton on the other side of the river, washing the mud off our boots before enjoying a drink beside the roaring fire.
Mud aside, it was a lovely walk, made even more wonderful by the spectacle provided by the murmerations of those starlings, who were obviously as excited as we were by the imminent approach of spring.
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