At Easter 1913, Edward Thomas undertook a journey on foot and bicycle from London, north and west to the Quantocks, in pursuit of the spring. He was delayed for a day by sleet, but began his journey on Good Friday (March 21st in that year). Here, in his pre-journey musings he expresses truths about the "movable feast" of Easter that still hold good today. Beautifully written in his clear, elegant prose -
The beautiful Easters I had known came back to me: Easters of five years, twenty years ago; early Easters when the chiffchaff was sounding on March 20 in a soft wind; later Easters when Good Friday brought the swallow, Saturday the cuckoo, Sunday the nightingale. I did not forget Easters of snow and of north wind. In the end I decided to trust to luck - to start on Good Friday on the chance that I would meet fine weather at once or in a day or two. I would go out in that safe , tame fashion, looking for spring.
