February is usually the month I like to go and take a photograph or two at my favourite spot for snowdrops, although this year, largely due to the weather, I didn't think it was going to happen.
So, I was so pleased to get the chance to pay a visit this afternoon to Hawthorn Dene, Co Durham in NE England, where the annual display once again was looking quite magnificent.
Thanks to yet more overnight rain, the path through the dene was quite muddy in parts but at least it was feeling mild and spring-like at 14°C.
The snowdrops in and around Hawthorn Dene regularly draw a steady stream of visitors who also enjoy the miles of woodland and nearby coastal footpaths.

#engalnd #durhamwildlifetrust #durham #countryside #snowdrops #photography

The UN cannot fulfill its mission while a state waging a war of aggression holds an unlawful veto over its decisions.

The permanent seat was created for the USSR, which ceased to exist in 1991 – Russia simply occupied it by changing a nameplate, without any legal procedure. Nowhere in the #UN Charter is Russia listed as a permanent member, and to this day, that seat remains reserved for the non-existent Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.

This contradiction undermines the UN’s credibility and blocks action to protect peace. It is absurd that those responsible for killing, sexual abuse, and abducting children occupy a seat entrusted with maintaining global security.

Russia’s Expulsion from UN An Urgent Necessity.

https://www.kyivpost.com/opinion/39409

#Ukraine #europeanunion #eu #UK #europe #France #Deutschland #Denmark #Engalnd #Britain #Italy #Spain #Baltics #usa

Not quite sure how I managed to make Bourton-on-the-Water in the Gloucestershire Cotswolds look quite so peaceful! The day I visited back in late June, it was rammed.
Thought this moment wasn't going to happen, but for little more than a second or two, this space looked so idyllic – couldn't believe my luck!

#engalnd #cotswolds #gloucestershire #timeless #photography

A Sunday afternoon walk in the sunshine along the north bank of the River Wear in Sunderland, where an area of grassland has been allowed to develop into a wildflower meadow. This is near the Sir Tom Cowie Campus of Sunderland University, where cyclists on the C2C route are riding the final mile down to the seafront at Roker.

#engalnd #sunderland #cityscape #summer #landscape #photography

Came across some amazing angels in stone yesterday, during a visit to a cemetery at Swinton, Greater Manchester.
A graveside memorial favourite in Victorian times, seems like they're making something of a comeback!

#memorial #angel #sculpture #victorian #grave #Manchester #Salford #Engalnd #photography

Whenever I visit Durham (and it's easy to do as I live quite near), I love how the first glimpse of majestic Durham Cathedral comes into view as you head up the city's Saddler Street towards Palace Green.

#Durham #cathedral #historic #Engalnd #monochrome #photography