Snowdrops and Carsington Water

Saturday 1st and 8th February 2020

Snowdrops are always a welcome sight as they are the first sign that winter is not going to last for much longer and spring is just around the corner. I have some snow drops in my garden and when they start flowering in January it lifts my spirits right in the middle of the cold winter, however for a more extensive display I have to go further afield. The best display of snowdrops in Leicestershire is in the Dimminsdale Nature Reserve near the Derbyshire border and at the beginning of February I drove over initially heading off on the same route that I had taken the year before. Passing Staunton Harold Hall I came to Heath End where the snowdrops in some of the gardens were just coming through, but I wasn’t in a hurry to see any more yet. Instead I turned left onto the route of an old tramway and followed this around and finally into the National Trust property of Calke Park. Turning into a small wood on a good, surfaced path I climbed up to the drive into Calke Abbey but kept heading south-east towards the main goal of my walk: the snowdrops of Dimminsdale. The walk up to this point had occupied just enough time so that it was now a little after midday and the slender winter sun was at its maximum height lighting the snowdrops to a superb display.

Dimminsdale is an old lime works and the snowdrops are to be found in one corner where the manager’s house was located. In the hundred or more years since the quarry closed the snowdrops have spread to cover a wide area and looked fantastic in the sunshine ensuring that all my winter blues were blown away. I took an immense number of photos as I wandered all over the area, careful not to trample on any of the delicate flowers until eventually I decided I’d seen enough and taken enough pictures so I made my way up and around the lake that forms the centrepiece of the reserve. After returning home my desire to see snowdrops had not been satisfied so I made a check on the internet and discovered that there is reputed to be a good display of snowdrops at Hopton Hall in Derbyshire, just outside the Peak District. Therefore the following Saturday I drove over to the village of Hopton and entered the park just after it opened. After paying the entry fee I set off around the grounds and was immediately confronted with wide spreads of snow drops.

Unfortunately the sun wasn’t out at this time and therefore reduced the quality of the pictures, but the snowdrops were just as stunning a sight. Arrows directed me as I wandered all around the gardens ensuring that I could see the snowdrops from all directions. Half way round the sun came out lighting the displays that included other early flowering plants such as crocuses as I passed the tearooms and rounded a pond where a backdrop of a clear blue sky produced a beautiful scene. As I came back past the old hall more snowdrops came into view and I was mesmerised once again as I took more pictures of the snowdrops, now lit by the morning sun. Having walked around the gardens of Hopton Hall I now set off to walk around the nearby Carsington Water and make a day of it. Leaving my car in the car park I came out of the grounds and walked into the village of Carsington and from there to the shore of Carsington Water where a purposely designed path follows the edge of the reservoir. It was lovely to be able to stretch my legs and slowly wander along the path without a need to hurry while listening to the sound of the birds in the sunshine.

After eating something at the visitor centre I crossed the long dam where a bitterly cold, strong wind forced me to wrap up tight as I crossed the exposed bank. On the eastern side of the reservoir I continued along the path through other wooded scenes slowly making way back towards Hopton Hall. Passing through the village of Hopton I discovered a pretty good display of snowdrops even there, but this was not to be compared with the snowdrops at Hopton Hall when I returned weary but pleased to have done such an exhilarating walk. These walks were rather early in the season for snowdrops and if I’d done them a couple of weeks later I may have seen better displays, but poor weather intervened when I meant to return to Dimminsdale later in the month. Now I can’t go any further than I can walk from my own house, and then only for an hour's walk for exercise, but at least I have the memory of previous walks and the many pictures that I took in happier times to cheer me in these dark days. Eventually this winter produced by the Coronavirus will pass and I look forward to seeing the snowdrops of hope that mark the end.