March 30th – I stopped to take a look at the new pond at Clayhanger, which to my surprise, still looks very wintery. It was  far too wet to go down to the water or ride round, and from my vantage point I couldn’t see if the swans were nesting on the island this year.

There were signs of spring, however, in the track adjacent which was of course the line of the mineral railway that served Walsall Wood Colliery. The hedgerows and scrubs forming a woodland tunnel were looking fresh with a smattering of emerald green, fresh growth for the season ahead.

It’s hard to imagine that this time three years ago in 2013, there was still thick snow on the ground – in places several feet deep – that would last for a week or more.