Snowdrops in Blaby

I love wildflowers, so autumn and winter are depressing seasons for me as the native wild plants react to the reducing sunlight by going to seed and shutting down for the year. However, this all changes in January when the first snowdrops appear and suddenly there is a feeling that spring is coming, which finally lifts my spirits. The first snowdrops I see are usually those in the church of All Saints in Blaby, a village just outside Leicester. They are larger than the usual snowdrops and come out a few weeks earlier, usually by the middle of January. They are a welcome sight and the smaller, more common snowdrops are not far behind with most being out by the beginning of February. I have snowdrops in my garden, but the best displays require decades to establish with a particularly stunning array in Leicestershire at Dimminsdale Nature Reserve. I visit the reserve every year to witness the awesome snowdrops that can be seen and last year was no different, but this year lockdown has meant I can’t travel and have to stay local. Fortunately I know there are some snowdrops in Blaby, but when I started looking for them a couple of weeks ago I was astonished to find abundant displays that were more extensive than I’d remembered.

I started at All Saints Church, but the large snowdrops had been crushed by footfall during the recent snowfall so moving on from there I headed onto Mill Lane and soon found a rich spread of snowdrops on the high banks beside the road mixed amongst the undergrowth. These were fabulous to see after the long, miserable winter and served to lift my spirits at a time when all else is dull and dreary. More snowdrops could be seen as I made my way along the narrow road that sees little traffic, but is popular with walkers including me. Mill Lane has provided me with much comfort over the last couple of months when I have only able to walk locally and has provided me with a lovely walk past trees in the Sence valley and has become my first choice place to walk. On this occasion, when I reached Blaby Cemetery I turned right between the modern cemetery and an old cemetery where I found more snowdrops. A couple of years ago this old cemetery was overgrown with a mess of weeds until a team of volunteers tackled the jungle and cleared the weeds enabling the snowdrops that must have always been underneath to bloom.

The snowdrops are all near the path and provide me with a great encouragement as I walk up to the Peace Memorial Garden at the upper end of the cemetery. This is where the greatest density of snowdrops are with gorgeous coverings spread out amongst the tombstones. During the unseasonably warm weather at the end of February I was encouraged to get out for many invigorating walks that have been an immense benefit to my mental health at this time when I have otherwise been stuck at home all day. Earlier in the year the ground was saturated following huge amounts of rain over the winter, which has made walking in the countryside unappealing. Therefore I have largely been keeping to the solid ground of pavements on my local walks and fortunately the path past the Peace Memorial Garden is tarmacked so provides me with a good walk through the refreshing countryside just outside of Blaby without getting my feet covered in mud. On reaching Hospital Lane I turned right heading back into Blaby and after passing Thistly Meadow Primary School I turned right onto Welford Road.

When I reached Bouskell Park I turned into this public space to walk along the path and wondered whether there would be any snowdrops and to my surprise I found an abundant display near an old ice house that is being restored. I don’t remember snowdrops being beside the ice house before and you would have thought the building work would have prevented them appearing, but instead the turned earth has encouraged an abundant covering of snowdrops that I was frustratingly unable to get close to because of the barriers that keep people away from the building work. Snowdrops are not a native plant and only grow where people have planted them, but they require many years to establish into the extensive displays that I have seen in previous years at Dimminsdale, and on this short walk from Blaby. The most likely places to see snowdrops are long established, like churchyards and old cemeteries, while Bouskell Park has snowdrops thanks to its previously being the grounds of Blaby Hall. At a time when we are stuck at home and can only walk locally these snowdrops have provided me with a boost and have helped me get through these dark days.