It’s been a hard winter, followed by an unsettled spring, but Easter has more than made up for it.

So we took a break from the plot and asked the neighbours to look after the chickens, and took ourselves off to the Dales to see all the new growth, and of course the lambs.

It was four days spent driving through lanes between proper farms, where hens are free to roam among the sheep and out onto the road. We called in at Tan Hill, the highest inn in Britain, and there were three pure-breed layers way up there, clucking and pecking the grass between the bikers’ wheels.

And best of all, we even got some sun – enough to see us come home with the start of a tan.

If it’s indicative of the kind of summer we can expect, it should be a good season out on the plot. But then the last two Aprils have been great, too, and the summers a washout.

Related posts:

1. Spring cleaning the greenhouse
2. Spring cleaning
3. The pre-spring clear-up