Waking Up to Spring in Chapel Lawn

Birdlife bursts into action at the first signs of spring, as our feathered friends get busy establishing their territory and gathering materials for nest-building. Frequent visitors to The School House B&B garden are red starts, blue and green tits, robins and house martins. Behind The School House you can see or hear the buzzards circling above Brineddin Wood, as well as the owls and woodpeckers within the wood itself. Every now and then a Red Kite swoops overhead in search of some tasty prey. We have a couple of small pairs of binoculars for guests to use, but if you’re coming specially to see the birdlife you may want to bring your own.

Snowdrops are often the first signs of wildlife emerging from the quiet winter season, and they are starting to appear all around the country. There are often stunning displays to be seen in woodlands around South Shropshire and you can even go on a Snowdrop Walk through the National Gardens Scheme (Millichope Park, Munslow SY7 9HA – Sunday 19^th February at 2pm).

Lambing starts in February and it’s quite amazing to see how quickly the tiny lambs get up to take their first few steps and their desire within a day or two to start bouncing around the fields. There are lambs in most of the fields around Chapel Lawn and last year we didn’t have to go far before we were stuck in one of those ‘bank holiday traffic jams’ when the ewes and their young lambs were being moved from field to field.

After a delicious School House breakfast, a day discovering the Shropshire Hills AONB is a great way to shake off those winter blues. As the AONB say on their website “the hills, rolling farmland, woods and river valleys of this varied and special landscape are rich in geology and wildlife and ingrained with heritage” so there is plenty of appeal for all tastes.

After spending a day or two in Shropshire’s Great Outdoors, you may want to head to one of our beautiful market towns for a bit of a wander, or to experience some of the county’s amazing spectacles such as the livestock auction at Bishops Castle – one of the largest livestock auctions around. Or why not take a trip to medieval Ludlow to visit the castle and to sample some of the fine eateries it has to offer? The Ludlow Local Produce Market is held in the market square on the second and fourth Thursdays of each month and there are also craft markets there from time to time. From 6^th to 12^th February the Ludlow Food Centre will be celebrating Bramley Apple Week with some tempting offers, such as buy one get one half price on their handmade Spiced Bramley Apple Chutney, delicious with one of their fine cheeses such as the mouth-watering blue Remembered Hills or the Oakly Park cheddar.

As you can see there is plenty going on close to The School House B&B. Why not enjoy a few days discovering Shropshire as the days are starting to get longer and everyone moves out of their winter slumber? We’d love to see you soon.