Dimminsdale Nature Reserve

The unexpected bright winter sunshine encouraged us out on our annual pilgrimage to find the first flowers of the year. Instead of going to our old haunts we tried somewhere a bit closer to home. Just past Staunton Harold estate hides the Dimminsdale Nature Reserve

We parked at the picnic spot at the lower edge of Staunton Harold reservoir, pausing to enjoy the Great Crested Grebe

In the wood there are still ponds left over from mining works where the reflections are so clear that you can't work out which way is up

The light made everything look magical

 And unlikely as it seemed we did indeed find plenty of snowdrops

and they were in pretty good condition

We were wondering what a snowdrop looked like from underneath