Spring(er) time in Stanmer

White on yellow

Plum blossom and forsythia at the bottom of the garden where I'm not allowed on account of the vegetables and slug pellets.

Blackthorn winter?

There seems to be more than the usual amount of blackthorn blossom this year. Very often when the bushes are in bloom, the weather turns wintry and we have what is known as a blackthorn winter. (The opposite of an Indian summer, I suppose.) But this year things seem to have been reversed and we are enjoying a delightful spring.

Spring greens 3

At this time of the year, the most vibrant green of all is probably that of the young beech leaves.

Patcham Rec

Just across the main London Road from the horse trough is Patcham Recreation Ground with its backdrop of glorious beech trees. The cricket pavilion might look fairly old, but it is in fact quite new. It was built along the same lines as the old one, which was burnt to the ground by vandals.

Patcham

Patcham is the next "village" west of Stanmer. It was at one time a small place to the north of Brighton but is now just a suburb of the city. This Victorian horse trough stands where the road from London entered the village and where the Old London Road meets the newer village bypass.

White on blue

The cherry trees in the park are all in bloom so spring must be here.