Despite a still grey start to the day, with a sprinkling of rain, nonetheless, spring is busting out all over, with new sights, sounds and smells almost by the day.
In the woodland, Bluebells bob gently in the breeze – an intense shade of blue, alongside white-flowered Ramsons – like white stars shining out from the murk of the woodland floor.
Drifts of brilliant yellow Lesser Celandine carpet the turf, along with some dense stands of Three-cornered Leek. The pink flowers of Herb Robert catch my eye, with red-tinged leaves where it is growing beneath a gap in the canopy.
Near the Aviary Glade, the drumming of a Great Spotted Woodpecker echoes among the trees with a Green Woodpecker bobbing along Long Meadow as if being bounced on a piece of elastic.
Dog Violets are in bloom in the woods, with paler blue Hairy Violets in flower on the downs.
Along the Diagonal Path, the lovely coconut scent of Gorse drifts through the air, while on the verges, the leaves of Hemp Agrimony, Wood Sage, Common Mallow and Teasel can be found.
A Greenfinch ‘swees’ from the top of a Hawthorn, with Long-tailed Tits weaving among the scrub above the path.
A Kestrel hovers above the Gully – her chestnut brown back and barred tail clearly visible from above.
Out at sea, a pair of Gannets pass by – their brilliant white plumage making them stand out even at a distance, with Shag, Great Black-backed Gull and Herring Gull passing by.
Fulmars swerve, straight-winged around the clifftops, as Guillemots and Razorbills whir in and out, with more bobbing and preening on the water below.
A Blackbird picks worms from among the Primroses on Caravan Terrace, with a superb view of a Bullfinch perched in the scrub above.