After a very unsteady and uncertain month of March, we’re looking on the bright side as we head into April and are focusing on appreciating our beautiful surroundings. Rather than sticking to our usual tourist tips blog post series advising you with some of the best things to see and do in the local area, we thought we’d bring our countryside to you and tell you about the changes in the season we’re having up here in the Dales.
During such uncertain times, it’s lovely to see pops of brightness, colour and life bringing positivity to our community. Nature is continuing to bloom and grow, and there certainly are plenty of signs of Spring showing itself as we head out of March and into April. As it starts to get warmer, the birdsong in our villages is lovely, the sound of curlews and oystercatchers among the sounds of local children playing in their gardens following the closure of schools. We’ve been lucky enough to hear a cuckoo recently which is quite early for round here, and soon the swallows and house martins will be arriving once again around mid-April.
Although our beautiful snowdrops that have been dotted around the villages have almost passed, we’re not short on new blooms. We’ve got celandines and primroses popping up now, bringing some lovely yellow sunshine to our grassy areas! We’re looking forward to seeing our village in full bloom as more and more buds begin to flower! As we head towards early Summer, the beautiful expanses of meadows around our cottages will be stunningly filled with buttercups and wildflowers, and while the trees are still bare, they’ll soon be in leaf.
Despite the current standstill in the UK, up here in the Dales farming goes on, as ever. As we head into warmer weather following all the rain we’ve had over the last few months, the grass has a chance to grow and our farmers are getting ready for haytiming in Summer. It’s important to know that while the whole country is on lockdown, our farmers are continuing to go out to work every day, ensuring they provide us with regular high-quality produce. Plenty of farmers have been busy in the midst of lambing season too! It’s been fantastic seeing lots of little lambs playing throughout the fields of the Swaledale!
During this uncertain time, it is important we all stay positive, grateful, and aware of the beauty in our surroundings. At the moment, although we cannot welcome you to the Dales, we can have joy in showing and sharing with you the beauty that they have to offer. We hope we can open up our beautiful area and see you all again soon.
