Sunday 1st April 2024

The winter is long and dark, from the moment the clocks go back at the end of October, each day gets shorter and darker by anything from one to five minutes, until just before Christmas, the process stops, and the days begin, almost beyond human senses, to get longer. At first a minute a day, but by the end of March, up to five minutes in the morning and five more in the evening.

By then, Spring is here, just about, there is the colour of fresh growth everywhere, maybe some hardy spring flowers in bloom, and some butterflies and other insects dressed in woolly jumpers, bobble hats and scarves, out collecting nectar.

Through those long, dark winter months, I dream of the first walk in the springtime woods of the Kentish downland, look for signs of flowering orchids and other plants. To make the winter seem longer and darker, I tore my cartilage in my right knee, and pretty much the only cure is not to go out walking in the woods.

I had to get fit for when the time came.

Had to.

Friday. Good Friday was when I went into the woods for the first time, not so muddy as i thought after the rains over the autumn and winter, but plenty of trees down, though the woodland carpeted with anemones and celandines.

I bailed on a walk on Sunday due to the poor, cloudy weather. There would be no excuse for Monday. Bank Holiday Monday.

So, with cloudless skies forecast for the morning, once we had supped our first coffee, we were out. Heading to Stone Street and the orchid-rich downlands there.

Not many people about, not even at the port as the queues from Friday had melted away, so we cruised up the M20 then up Stone Street, turning off and down the familiar lane to Yockletts.

Once parked up I put on my walking shoes, crampons, got the walking pole out, all needed these days so to protect my knee from further damage.

And then through the gate and up the track to the lower meadow.

KWT have been busy, clearing shrubs and vegetation. I have long since given up commenting on the work they do, it looks extreme just after completion, and a fellow walker was horrified at what had been done. I hope he's wrong, but much of the lower slopes are now meadow rather than woodland, and the woodland plants are fading away.

Maybe they'll return.

Even the old bench has been replaced. It needed going, but the new one is narrow and uncomfortable, and not good for one who would like to linger. So we press on, down through the woods and then up to the higher track, so to check on the Lady Orchids.

Lady Orchid, Fly Orchids, Greater Butterfly, Herb Paris, Wood Spurge, Surge Laurel, Primroses and many other plants were showing well, with many to flower in the next few days and weeks.

Across the road and up the steep path to the upper meadow, where our way was blocked by signs warning of Ash die back and fallen trees. I did nip along to the edge of the bluebell wood to see if the Early Purples were in flower, sadly they were not, which meant we would have to go somewhere else afterwards.

I told Jools of the change of plan and the short drive to Earley Wood, along the valley, she sighed but accepted it. So, back to the car we walked, where I would drive three miles with crampons on.

The winterbourne whose bed is usually dry for years was two foot deep, and fast flowing, heading to Waltham and Bridge beyond where it would join with the Nailbourne to flow into the Little Stour.

We turned left instead, to get to the wood, and a quick hobble down through the pen meadow to the first track, and down where I had been the spikes on Friday, a little further on were two spikes each with a handful of open flowers.

That'll do, pig.

On the way back to the car, Jools spotted a Comma basking, so we both stooped to take shots of it with wings open before the last few steps through the mud in the meadow and arrived safe and sound at the car.

I drove us back to the A2, then back along to Whitfield and to home, getting back at half eleven, just enough time to make bacon butties before the football began at half midday.

This is the business end of the season, when the going gets tough, the tough get promoted, and for this Bank Holiday, Norwich were away at once runaway leaders, Leicester.

Norwich were dreadful, and to make it worse, the game was live on TV, which I turned off after 65 minutes, Norwich 2-1 down and chasing shadows. Leicester ran in a third at the end, so that was crap.

At least Ipswich would lose to Southampton, right?

Wrong.

Though for an hour The Blues were chasing shadows too, but made some changes and showed the grit and determination so missing from Norwich, and scored two in the closing stages to win 3-2 and go back to the top of the table.

Next game?

The Old Farm Derby at Carrow Road.

Oh dearie, dearie me.

There was still time to watch Leeds overcome Hull, so that all the top three at the start of play all won.