Snowdrop glory by Cherington lake

Our Sunday lived up to its name and we made the most of it by driving up onto the tops of the Cotswold farmland near to Stroud and headed for a favoured haunt on springlike days such as this was.

Cherington is a small village bordering the rolling arable farmland, but also situated high above a steep combe, formed by a series of springs that have steadily cut down through the limestone and clay strata. In the valley are woodlands which now seem to be left to their own devices and not managed. At the bottom of the steep lane down from Cherington village, the road crosses the site of an old ford, before winding round an interlocking spur to the valley formed by another stream.

Human intervention at some time has dammed the valley just below where the two stream originally mingled to form a lake with a controlled outflow down a small weir which I presume was once used to power a small mill, but there is no trace of that now. We like walking on the footpath around the lake, as it combines views on one side across the water, in which there is a small island covered in trees, before crossing the weir to climb up above the lake and get access into the woodland to complete a circular walk.

By the ford there is a small place for a few cars to park, with a footpath leading down beside the stream beside the ancient woodlands which were once coppiced but now are rather decrepit. But the joy of this abandonment is that the snowdrops have been allowed to spread completely up and along the steep hillside. They are now at the peak of their blooming with virtually every single plant flowering.

I took this shot from the edge of the path where a small woodbank separates the woodland from the path beside the lake. Woodpeckers also blipped a scene close to this, where the path leaves the shelter of the woodland. We both agreed that there was an abundance of choice of views, so I'm sure we will come back soon.