This is my monthly walking journal for February 2023.
February has been a fairly dry and mild-weathered month. The days around Valentine’s Day were positively spring-like and I caught the sun on my face (despite the sun cream).
It was great to get out for a 10-miler on Bodmin Moor. I haven’t been hiking in this area for a few years, but I have visited for many family strolls and picnics. Walking along, I realised that I hadn’t written about one of my favourite areas, so here it is Minions Moor to Twelve Mens Moor.
As usual, my timing was bad and I got back to my car at 6pm. It was just getting dark, and that was on a very foggy mid-February Friday afternoon. So the days are certainly getting longer.
At the end of February, we had a family day in Portscatho for lunch and a stroll around St Mawes and its castle in the afternoon. The weather turned colder in the last week, but there was plenty of sunny daylight.
At the end of February, the sun rises around 7.10am and sets just before 6pm here in SE Cornwall.
Country and Coast – February
It’s odd, I think, that many people start to talk about spring and how near to spring we are from mid-February. Technically, mid-February is mid-winter – between the 21st of December and 21st of March. What typically happens is a week or two of mild weather. Here in Cornwall, the daffodils, snowdrops and primroses start to bloom – a sure sign that spring is on the way. However, we often get a cold snap, and this year is no different, which sets everything back into winter mode.
The hedgerows are starting to come alive. There are plenty of buds on trees and shrubs and, in particular, camellias started flowering from mid-February. Looking at the buds getting ready to burst, cherry, magnolia and rhododendrons will flower soon.
On the coast, the yellow flowers of gorse or broom are out and proud, and you can just see may flower budding, ready to burst.
I haven’t had the pleasure myself but there are many crocuses and snowdrops about in woodland areas. There have been some amazing photos on social media sites showing carpets of colourful crocuses.
