The barn swallows are back & picnic season is here
- Julia Stevens
- Apr 27, 2017
- 8 min read
With a May Bank Holiday on the horizon this weekend and the leaves now on the trees, our green and pleasant land is furiously growing its pastures. I know all of this because I am an avid picnicker and there is nowhere better to have a picnic than in the thick of knee high lush deep grass. At this time of year whenever I go out for a walk I am on the lookout, making a mental note of any potential picnic spots, keeping an eye on the fields around me looking for stretches of pasture, possibly on a slope with a view and very importantly a corner sheltered from any wind.
Spring's new growth means that the countryside is at it's greenest and richest at this time of year. This also makes it a film makers paradise. Many of those beautiful fairytale movies or period dramas set in the English countryside are often filmed in late April or the beginning of May.
Just as the vegetation is looking full and fresh, before it fades slightly with the turning of the year from Spring to Summer, the media industry descends for a week of filming at Loseley and then flies off to edit in dimly lit studios away from prying eyes. Last year or maybe 2 years ago, I can't remember exactly, we had the filming of 'The Crown' and this year, infact today, there is a new movie being shot here.
I have come to know the pattern that filming follows and it goes something like this ...
Dinner is on the table, the sun has set, darkness is closing in, I am settled in for the evening. Then it begins, I feel it in my stomach before I even hear it. Underneath the sound of the radio I can pick up on something, a deep resonance like the rumble of thunder on the horizon. A rolling low vibration, gentle but slowly approaching. I open the dining room window that looks out on the drive and wait for the arrival.
The silent army descends, a convoy of huge trucks glide down the drive slowly, gently and quietly. They are so polite and well behaved that I can't help smiling. When they arrive it always brings an air of anticipation, I feel a sense of excitement and know that tomorrow is going to be an entertaining day. They are the calm before the storm, the catering trailer, the make-up trailer, the camera's and props and massive paraphanelia that surrounds the movie industry.
The following day it will start in the early hours at first light. The catering crew are up first, breakfast is on the go well before everyone else arrives. Next actors and actresses will arrive in plush luxury cars with darkened windows always driven by a chauffeur. (I expect they come from London and I wonder if they manage to avoid the miserable crawl of traffic that is the A3 as it bottlenecks in Guildford.) A stream of activity as cars pull up & famous faces emerge for breakfast and make-up. They are surrounded by an army of cool stylish hip people generally dressed in jeans, trainers and super cool jackets. Young men and women with clipboards and microphones who will be running around looking important from about 8.00am.
At some point in the morning I will timidly venture out and pretend to take a walk and see who I can see.( Sadly I can't say who is here or what they are filming because then they would have to kill me - just joking, 'The Favourite' is due for release in 2018. For a brief second I thought I saw Rachel Weisz and Daniel Craig drive past in a vintage Mercedes but I may have been hallucinating! )
Filming will go on all day with the coming and going of dark chauffeur driven cars. Frantic fashionably dressed movie gurus will buzz in and out of the house. I will watch and then get bored and head home for a cup of tea. As the sun goes down I will venture out again to see if it is all over yet. Sometimes well into the night they will film. Finally it will fall silent and the low rumble will return as the army of trucks quietly roll down the drive and exit through the gates.
The next day we will awaken to a quiet empty Loseley, it will feel sad for an hour or so, like the morning after a big party. But then we will regather our strength and the buzz of activity will resume as Loseley prepares for the opening of the house and walled garden to the public this weekend.
The filming season and the arrival of the barn swallows usually coincides. Although I love the buzz of filming, it is the quiet & calm of nature that is my real friend.
'the peace of nature fills the mind with calm and cheer, the bright green grass underfoot awakens a sense of beauty, almost of reverence ... And in the quietude that broods so blissfully around you, there is comfort and rest.'
Halldor Laxness
When I see the first swallows flitting over the fields my heart sings a happy song. Last year I had a swallows nest built in the eaves just alongside my front door and enjoyed the chirping of the little one for weeks before it took flight. I welcome them like old friends, they are eagerly anticipated and the miracle of their journey all the way from South Africa up the whole length of the African continent amazes me. Miles and miles across the sunbaked and scorched dry Sahara. Days of travel finished over Morocco and then the sparkling Ocean. Into Spain where they will soar over the Pyrenees cut across the huge country of France and finish with a quick flight over the Channel, covering hundreds of miles to make it all the way over to our little island. This journey is what adds to their appeal. They bring me a taste of my beloved Africa. I love to see them return. What have their eyes seen? Vast oceans of salty brine, wind and rain and always the presence of the sun, the moon and the stars.
When I am picnicking I look out for them. I lie on my picnic rug, looking up as the clouds float by and every now and then I catch the flash of the red chin and the swoop of their dark elegant curved wings.
This year I started my picnic season early, hosting a birthday tea for my nephew in the bluebell woods in April. We had a slight heatwave of a weekend which made it a whole lot easier to be outside picnicking. But having said that it is never too early to picnic, the Japanese have refined the art with everyone engaging in the arrival of Spring and the Cherry blossoms at the start of the financial year, by eating outside under the pink canopy.
(Sadly I packed some mouldy matches and with the slight breeze we were unable to light William's birthday candles! He was very mature about it and pretended to blow... sweet nephew.)
I have never understood why more people don't picnic. There are so many parks, river banks, woodlands and fields all around us. Here in Britain we have public footpaths through the most beautiful landscapes and we have every right to sit down, enjoy a snack and take in the view. Yes it is a slight pain having to drag rugs and food through the countryside but the reward is so much higher than the effort. Yes, things get spilt and insects get eaten by mistake, but the tranquility, the sound of bird song, the textured surroundings, it is bliss for me.
This was taken a few years ago at the National Trust property of Polesdon Lacey, I recommend the deckchairs, you don't need to bring your own, just hunt them down, there are free deckchairs scattered throughout the grounds.
Another great spot to picnic is in the fields above Shere. I have spent many a lazy afternoon hidden in the grass here, gazing at the view and watching the world go by. If you stay long enough the light will change and take on that magical touch.
Life outside is an adventure. I once dragged a friend with me all the way across Surrey looking for this little blue door at the base of a tree. I had heard about it and wanted to see it for myself. It is located in the woods outside a village which is close to Dorking, I wish I could give more details but I can't remember any, I don't think I will ever be able to find it again.
It is important to picnic at the start of the summer and enjoy the rich pickings before this lush pastureland is mowed down for the first hay cut of the year in June or July. The fields will be ravished and bare afterwards and never fully regain their former glory.
A friend and I were once nearly mowed down ourselves, we lingered until the last moment, enjoying our picnic, unable to see beyond our little world of grass but aware of the ever increasing noise of an approaching tractor. Chairs were gathered up, rugs and food repacked just as the roar and whir of blades bore down on us.
This May Bank holiday there will be a Teddy Bear's Picnic held in Abinger Hammer. This is an annual event to raise funds for the local school. Abinger Hammer is the perfect spot to picnic and go wading in the little stream that winds its way along the side of the cricket pitch. A few years ago I took my niece along to Abinger Hammer to picnic and explore the stream for the day. I had so much fun making a jam jar for holding all the little things Ruby caught in the water.
Another great place to picnic is Puck's Oak Barn in Compton, a little reserve open to the public with a tiny orchard of apples and wild flowers tucked away in a magical world that you would never know was there. Below are two of my favourite photos of Oliver and Ruby playing in the orchard at Puck's Oak Barn.
'To find the universal elements enough, to find the air and water exhilarating; to be refreshed by a morning walk or an evening saunter; to be thrilled by the stars at night; to be elated over a birds nest or a wildflower in Spring - these are some of the rewards of the simple life.'
Essay by American Naturalist - John Burroughs
For me the swallows are back and the picnic season has officially started. The good news is that the picnic season lasts all the way through until September. I plan to seize any sunny days that come my way. I will pack a bottle of Prosecco, some real wine glasses, not the throw away plastic cups. A pot of olives, bag of crisps and possibly a carton of strawberries and cream. It is always worth the effort even if it will probably turn cold and it might even rain, but who cares .... I will make a memory that won't easily be deleted whereas most days I can hardly remember what I ate or read or did.
Here is to some happy picnic days in 2017.
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