Oh the joy of the first spring weather after what has felt like a long, cold winter.
Have you noticed that when the sun is shining people smile and say hello, whereas in the winter people put their heads down and walk on by without so much as a hello.
Today I followed a variation of one of my regular walks; down to Gerard's Bridge then following the brook past The Burghies, across Merton Bank Road and on to Blackbrook. At the Ship Inn I turned onto the Sankey Way making my way back to Carr Mill, where I followed the path up through the Goyt across the fields to Billinge and back around the Dam before making my way home down Woodlands Road.
But today was less about the route and more about the joy that walking in the spring sunshine brings - it really does lift the mood!
From the outset, despite walking through what are basically rural paths in the town centre, the sunshine and birdsong are delightful. The sight of blackthorn in bloom, its pretty white flowers standing out from its dark branches, the daffodils are nodding cheerfully, their faces turned to the spring sunshine and the hawthorn leaves are just about to unfurl, their green buds changing the mood in the woodlands subtly.
There are birds darting about busily, calling to their mates as they collect twigs and moss for their nests: blackbirds, robins, blue tits and great tits, wrens and magpies and even a rare sighting of a thrush.
On the open water of Carr Mill dam, I saw at least three pairs of grebes, dancing and diving in their mating rituals, as well as swans, moorhens and common mallards, all enjoying the spring sunshine. There were lots of people out walking their dogs, and in The Goyt, that broken bridge was not stopping anyone, with the stream reduced to a trickle compared to the torrent of a month ago - what a difference a few weeks makes!
Long may it continue. I really hope that this isn't just a happy blip in the weather and that we are set for a long and warm spring. Surely we deserve it!
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