This morning I began my walk at Sunnydale, entering through the large oak pillars and the grassy verges thriving with Buttercup. I follow the footpath bounded by Elder, Holly, and Spindle. Above, the tunes of a Wren can be heard chiming over the rustling of leaves and branches swaying in the wind.
Following the winter tree thinning, more light filters through the canopy in the woodland than ever before. As a result, huge swathes of towering Cow Parsley and Pendulous Sedge abound throughout. Nestled amongst this thick undergrowth, I spot the first few Foxgloves, whose petals are just turning pink.
The last Ash trees have come into leaf; closing canopy around the glade which is tinged white with Daisies. Pigeons coo and jostle amongst the tree tops and the black beady eyes of a Crow watches on.
At the stone bridge, the Rhododendron is now covered in beautiful clusters of purple flowers.
The Egyptian Seat has finally been uncovered, revealing the freshly restored stonework. The seat was commissioned by George Burt in 1887 and had become increasingly dilapidated, having sunk in the centre; misaligning the stones. The contractor carefully dismantled and reconstructed the base of the seat, before rebuilding it, and replacing three broken stones with like-for-like replacements.
The new stone stands out a bright white, but along with all of the new dry stone walls, these stones will soon weather in to match the rest. A male Blackbird appears to approve of the seat as a new perch. He hops along the top whilst carrying an Earthworm in his beak.
Our work party volunteers have done a brilliant job weeding the new plantings in the Dell, which were quickly becoming overgrown with Dock and Nettle. An impressive bouquet of white flowers now adorn one of the Hydrangeas, and the others are set to follow. Fuchsias have also blossomed with their hanging pink flowers almost ready to pop.