Country diary: the moment when spring becomes an unstoppable force

Kirkham Abbey, North Yorkshire: More snow came, but the genie was out, and the dawn chorus continued even as the flakes swirledThere’s a view I’m fond of, and it’s worth a short diversion up a steep, anthill-studded pasture to spend a while taking it in. Looking out over the sidewinder course of the Derwent, and the equally sinuous rail line to Scarborough with its toytown signal box, it takes in wooded valley flanks, a ruined priory, and the genteel Georgian doll’s house