Lockdown has meant very little opportunity to stray far from our homes for the last ten weeks. It’s obviously needed but my it’s been one of the most beautiful springs l can remember. I’m longing to visit my favourite swim spot and gingerly dip my toes in the water before sinking in up to my neck and feeling the water rush by.

Meantime l have been getting to know my local area intimately. At the start of lockdown the landscape was still quite barren but on the cusp of blooming. The first pops of pops of colour coming from the crocuses, daffodils and coconutty gorse. Some changes have been quite gradual, the ferns slowly unfurling, the vegetables seedlings starting to grow but others have seemingly happened overnight like some of the trees in our garden which seemingly moved from brown and bare to a lime green canopy overnight. We’ve ventured out on many more local walks, down lanes, along burns, criss-crossing streets and returning time and time again to our favourite walk along the riverside. The kids have sat on the banks enraptured watching a heron, they’ve played Pooh sticks, hunted out wild garlic, learnt several bird calls and built a bird table.