Morning, this majestic oak tree is a central feature of the lane, here it is flanked by the young barley in the surrounding fields, January
Abbey Farm sits directly on the side of the lane, almost on the site of the old Abbey. To the right are established pastures, January
Clean streets sign, the detterent, apparently!
Old gate posts, these old field boundaries across the lane can be clearly seen on the early maps. Today only the posts remain, January
Cross at double bend. The cross sits in the hedgrow, but the message on it is illegible. January
Flytipping, a regular monday morning occurance. Annoyingly, the council refuse tip is only a couple of miles away. January
Dead buzzard. Did it die naturally? Buzzards live close by, but this one was left on the post. Later it was dragged into the field and gradually dissapeared under the lengthening meadow grass. January
New House Farm, overnight sprinkling of snow and a crisp morning. February
Flytipping at the gateway to what was "Old House", just before dawn. February
Frost on young barley, the early morning sun grazes across the seedling crops. The woods behind are used for game shooting. February
Dawn, looking east towards Abbey Farm from the lowest section of the lane. Water often runs off the fields at this point. February
Scene of previous flytipping, the council have made an attempt to remove the rubbish, but a fair sized heap still remains. February
Impending road resurfacing. Signs appeared suddenly over the weekend. The character of the lane would soon be dramatically changed. March
Cold morning, driving sleat and seasonal March winds. The road has been marked out by the contractors.
New base tarmac, The first section of the new surface is laid. The neat tarmac looks so out of place! March
Evening, oak tree. Taken the evening before this section of the lane was re-surfaced. Tomorrow the pot holes and single track character of the road will be lost. March
New flowers on cross. Every year, new flowers are placed on the cross during March.
The lanes character continues to change. Progress marches on as the new surface is gradually rolled out. March
Evening runners. The clocks change, British summertime starts and people take to exercise! The lane is well used by joggers and casual cyclists. April
Further road works. Contractors re-appear, this time to upgrade verges and drainage, April
First daffodils. This hedgerow is north facing and does not get much light except for early morning. The daffodils are late to flower. April
Morning mist. The feel of the lane can be transformed by the climatic conditions. To the left of this shot there is a small pond hidden in the verge. April
Barley field. The crops are now showing real signs of growing. Typical April clouds bring with them the seasonal showers.
Pussy willow and old oak tree. This old tree was still alive in 2004, but today it has finally died. This was it's last year of bearing leaves. April
Fresh oak leaves. Doesn't it just feel so good as everything begins to become green again? May
Scene of flytipping, a few weeks later and plants begin to colonise the debris. Nettlesare often quick to do this. May
Cow parsley. The verges look lush as the white flowers dance in the light breeze. May
Burnt out wreck, the first of a number still to come. May
Hawthorn blossom. Spring time is in full flush, there is real warmth in the air and new life all around. May
Early morning muck spreading over the pastures. Slurry is mixed with the piles of rotted manure that have been left in the fields over winter. May
Abbey Farm. Another fresh spring morning, the pastures are deepening and the new road surface looks more like a farm road again. May
The double bend! Before the resurfacing, pot holes precluded driving at speed. One just cannot see around this corner, especially when the hedges are in leaf. May
Withered flowers and fresh hedgerow. The cross is nearly hidden by the lush vegatation. In mid summer it's not easy to find it at all. May
Barley field. The seed heads are forming well, but the tractor path through the field is still clearly visible. June
Flytipping, More rubbish dumped on the side of the road, how can people be so ignorant towards nature? June
Oak tree. The view west, the leaves are now fully unfolded and the tree towers over the lane. June
Hay making. The verges begin to look slightly tired and mowing of the pastures changes to feel of the lane in a single day. June
Summer arrives. Vagrant poppies adorn the verges. June
Barley. Sunshine and a warm spell begins to change the colour of the crops. June
New hazzard signs appear at various places. The upgrading of the lane by the council continues. June
Cattle are put out to pasture against a back drop of a busy motorway. Slight hummocks can be seen in the grass of this field, presumably all that now remains of the old abbey. June
Wiind ruffles the ripening barley, More seasonal changes as the landscape changes from green to straw coloured. July
Harvesting, A warm summers evening and the farmers are busy making use of a dry spell. July
Scene of flytipping at gateway. Nature has reclothed the mess that was left. July
Redundant cattle grid and another burnt out car, Originally the right of way was over this grid and the road to the left was gated. July
Rooks capitalise on the newly harvested fields. The straw is drying on the ground, and a clamour of rooks forage for food. July
The harvesting cycle is completed, The fields are shorn and the straw bales await collection for use as bedding for the cattle during the winter months. July
Storms. heavy thunder persists over a couple of weeks. Many farmers who missed the dry spell were to loose much of their crops. August
Straw bales. The night after rain, moisture evaporates into the warm morning air. August
This wreck was left on a Friday, in broad daylight, in the middle of road, between 7:45am and 1:15pm, August
Dead rats abound after harvesting and more wet weather. The seasonal disturbance in the fields seems to flush the rats out onto the road. August
The wet spell persists. This was the only time that the stream rose sufficiently to flood the lane. August
Sowing rape seed, very late in the season because of the wet spell. The farmer was taking the tractor driver a flask and sandwiches. September
Cobwebs and feather on a fence post. The month of mists. October
Seedling crops. Rape begins to sprout, next year the lane would be surrounded by bright yellow fields. November
Yet another burnt out wreck on the old cattle grid, This was the fifth wreck of the year. The preious one had been set ablaze within feet on drying straw. November
Motorway bridge. Just before the bridge there there is still a catlle grid across the lane. The council did not see fit to remove it as a part of their improvement plans. November
Autumnal oak. Morning sunshine lights up the turning leaves, and glances off the young crops. November
Cold snap. This surface doesn't get gritted! Ice covers the tarmac and makes progress hazardous. November
Old gate posts and cattle grid near Abbey Farm. One of the other redundant grids along the lane. December
Short days, a low sun and the countryside awaits a new season, December
End of the road (M1 motorway bridge), December
