A beautiful start to the day, with brilliant sunshine glittering on frosty grass and the dazzle of the sun on the waves making me squint as I walked up through the woodland.
The woodland floor is now carpeted with bright green as plants put up new leaves, to soak up the sun before the canopy closes later in the spring. Miniature forests of Ramsons cover many of the glades around Sunnydale, adding a garlicky tang to the breeze. Around them, the leaves of Snowdrops, Ground Elder, Herb Robert, Cow Parsley and Dog Violet create a wonderful tapestry of 50 (at least!) shades of green.
Spring flowers are also starting to emerge, with pure white Snowdrops, buttery yellow Daffodils, intense purple Spring Crocuses, Primroses and the first yellow flowers of Lesser Celandine I’ve seen here this year.
Down in the Dell, a Crab Apple is starting to bloom, while Japanese Spindle is covered with shiny pink and orange fruit.
The woodland echoes with bird song and calls, with a varied choir of Great Tits, Blue Tits, Long-tailed Tits, Dunnocks, Blackbirds and Chaffinches, with the slow croak of a Raven providing a bass counterpoint.
Along the cliffs, a few Guillemots and Razorbills bob on the water, as Fulmars glide smoothly above them and Great Black-backed Gulls circle on broad, powerful wings. Jackdaws, picking through the clifftop turf look stunning in the morning sunlight, bring out the gleam of their feathers.
On Tilly Whim Ledge, a Raven picks through the remains of a kill (probably by a Peregrine, as it looked like the remains of a Feral Pigeon).
Alongside the Diagonal Path, the curly stems of Crow Garlic poke up among the grass.