On Sunday April 29th 2007 I took an early morning walk around Pickerings Pasture. It was a gloriously sunny day as I strolled down to Pickerings, across the field that joins it and found myself quite alone on the site for a short while. 

 It was 7am and I looked out over a sun glittering River Mersey as other visitors gradually started to arrive. 

A walk round Pickerings is an enjoyable experience on any day but the freshness of a warm Spring morning makes it extra special. As people started to arrive by car, bicycle and jogging, I wondered along the river side path.

On my right I passed a golden field of cowslips and then as the path turned away from the river I came across a stunning display of trees in bloom. 

There are some interesting large boulders or standing stones and then as you follow the path round you find an other short path to the left that leads down to the hide and views out to Hale Marsh.

There is a small pond below the hide that attracts ducks, geese, waders and a wide range of other birds. A kingfisher has often been seen there. Horses are often on view on the marsh, grazing, and on this particular occasion the startling and vibrant yellow of a field of rape could be seen in the distance.

As I continued on my way, taking the back path, bluebells made a real splashes of colour in the wooded areas.

There are logs piled to provide homes for insects and cover for small mammals and there is a quiet and secluded picnic area.

After a really relaxing and delightful hour wandering the paths of Pickerings I made my way home, full of the joys of spring.

Photographs by Lynda Broad