The spirit of May is infectious. Trees spill with fresh green leaves, mammal cubs wobble from dens with maiden sight, and all the while the birds continue to trill and chatter. It’s a month of floral evolution too, and a time when many of our meadows begin to reveal their first splashes of colour – an umbel here, an orchid there. As the month nears its end and summer takes hold, the show advances. The heads of knapweed, bird’s foot trefoil and yellow rattle rise among the sward, and with this the low-tone hum of insects on the wing.

Who can resist the temptation to be a part of all this? It’s certain our writers can’t. Here, 10 of our regulars reveal their favourite meadow walk. What’s yours? 

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