Return to Dimminsdale

Saturday 2nd and 16th February 2019

Just as last year, as soon as I saw that snowdrops had come out in my garden I headed over to North-West Leicestershire to visit the Dimminsdale Nature Reserve again so I could see their splendid display of snowdrops that never fails to delight me, especially at this time of the year when all else is dull. After parking at the southern end of Staunton Harold Reservoir again I retraced my steps of the year before onto the permissive trail of the Staunton Harold Ridgeway. Unlike previously when the field was really muddy, the ground was now frozen solid, which is always the best time to go walking in the winter with clear blue skies overhead and rock hard soil underfoot. The views were stunning and when Staunton Harold Hall emerged from amongst the trees I was confronted with a truly impressive view across the frost-encrusted grass and down to the stately home and church. Once I reached the garden centre at the back of the hall I was unsure where to go next as I’d not come with any plan in mind and no map. I had started following last year’s route just on a whim, but now I had to make a decision.

Despite Dimminsdale being my only real goal I turned left away from the reserve and headed into the young woodlands of Bignall’s  and Jaguar Lount Wood. A good, surfaced path took through these National Forest woods until at the far end I saw a wide track heading west, the course of a disused railway, which passes through more mature woodland that is always a lot more pleasurable to walk amongst. At the end I came across a track that I assumed was the National Forest Way so I turned north, but it soon deteriorated into a heavily overgrown path so it was obviously not the right trail. After a turn to the west the faint path continued until eventually I came across a much clearer trail, which was actually marked as the National Forest Way. I have followed this section of the trail several times before, first in 2015 when I followed it into Dimminsdale where I discovered the tremendous display that can be found there of snowdrops for the first time, and now I repeated that route all the way into the reserve and the delightful snowdrops.

It was still quite early in the season so I was not seeing the snowdrops at their peak, but there was still a fabulous display of these lovely, white flowers that bloom in the depths of winter. After walking around the frozen laundry pool in the reserve I headed back to my car to have my lunch as I tried to decide where to go next. With the sun still shining I decided to extend the walk into Calke Park, so I continued along the National Forest Way passing the only half full Staunton Harold Reservoir and rather than going all the way to Calke Abbey I branched off across several fields that were now rather slippery thanks the warming sun following the path into the Ticknall Limeyards. I had passed through these former limestone quarries the year before with some work colleagues, but since that was a similar time of year I feel I really must return later in the year to see the area at its best. I had intended on bringing my colleagues back to Dimminsdale and Calke Park two weeks after this walk, but things all fell apart with each person in turn pulling out until eventually I was left on my own.

Despite this I started by following the walk that I’d planned, which was similar to the walk that I’d done two weeks previously. It was now warmer and the skies were overcast so the view of Staunton Harold Hall was less impressive, though the accompaniment of loud birdsong added to the walk this time. Round the back of the hall I took the labelled Yew Tree Path, which I hadn’t taken before and immediately saw snowdrops in the grounds behind the hall. On the other side of the garden centre I followed the route that I’d taken the year before through the Marie Curie Field of Hope onto the National Forest Way, which finally brought me, once again, to the snowdrops in Dimminsdale that were now at their peak and giving me a fabulous display. Since it was still quite early in the day I had this stunning sight to myself so I was able to take loads of pictures as the sun began to shine across the blooms until eventually I was fully satisfied and could wait for another year to see snowdrops. It was becoming unseasonably warm, almost spring-like as I finally tore myself away from the snowdrops and headed around the reserve and towards Calke Park.

When I reached the site of Calke Abbey, now a stately home owned by the National Trust, I decided to veer off the route that I had planned for my work colleagues. Since I was sadly on my own I turned right instead of left onto the National Forest Way passing Mere Pond, but soon I came off the trail to take the path that passes above the pond and past the ancient oak known as the Old Man of Calke. Heading north I took a route through Serpentine Wood that later in the year would be full of bluebells, and even now I thought I could see tiny shoots of the young plants. By this point it was really warm and sunny and I was enjoying my walk around Calke Park, but there was not much left of the park for me to explore, so I turned left onto the slippery path towards the Ticknall Limeyards that I had taken two weeks earlier, but it was interesting to see how much drier the ground was now. We still haven’t had enough rain to reverse the effect of the hot, dry summer last year, which means the ground is really firm and easy to walk upon, although this is very unusual for this time of the year.

Rather than going through the limeyards I turned right to do a circumnavigation of the reservoir, however there is not a good path all the way round. When I reached the town of Melbourne at the northern end I turned south passing the picturesque pond known simply as the Pool, which was packed with wild fowl and was a lovely sight. The footpath from there on, however, was dull, passing through many farmers’ fields until I reached a sign for a permissive path, the same one that I had started the walk on which took me through Spring Wood and back to my car. The first walk had not been particularly exciting, especially when passing the young woodland or back along the National Forest Way, although the frozen ground had been fun while it lasted. It is amazing the difference two weeks makes as the second walk was lovely, mainly thanks to a bit of warmth that enlivened everything and made this a much more enjoyable walk. The highlight was what the main goal of both walks had been: to see the snowdrops in Dimminsdale, which produced a stunning display this year, but unfortunately I was not able to share it with anyone this time.