The last week of the month has been unusually warm, and the evenings still, and quiet. The brief spell of rain that fell a week earlier has boosted the landscape, which is now lush and thriving. Pheasants darted through the crops as I circumnavigated the large field at Crouch, and a large owl could be heard from the woodland beyond. At Stonehouse, the Ladies’ Cricket Team were practising and in Platt Woods, I was sure I heard the melodic charm of a nightingale.

This is Platt at the end of May 2025.