The steps by Wrecclesham Farm

A winter view up the steps by Wrecclesham Farm, near Farnham, Surrey.

Here some steep and muddy steps rise from a culvert to the hard pale light of a winter afternoon. The stiff questing fingers of twigs and branches push through the ivy and holly, and a decrepit fence collapses with the energy of the blackthorn and hawthorn hedge. I think that staying present to the seasons is an important thing to do, so as much as I dream of gaudy flowers and blue seas, this is still time for the introspection of winter.

Wrecclesham Farm, like so many in Surrey, is no longer a working farm. Horses are paddocked in the field to the left of the painting. At the foot of the steps, there is a culvert over a stream. This is the Bourne, once called the Winterbourne because it often dries up in the summer. Improbably, it is classed as a major river. The area around the culvert is good for watching damselflies and dragonflies. This is the path that I mentioned here, where both Black and White Bryony grow. These steps are also part of this walk.

You might also like this winter leaf painting and this view of Ten Acre wood near Wrecclesham.