Annual snowdrop walk returns to Hartlepool's Greatham Hall Gardens after two-year absence due to Covid-19

The popular walk returned to Greatham Hall Gardens after being cancelled in 2021 due to Covid-19, then postponed from its original return date of February 20 due to bad weather conditions.

The event gives walkers the chance to to wander among the splendour of snowdrops in their natural setting at Greatham Hall Gardens, a private wood, which is opened to the public by kind permission of the trustees of the Hospital of God.

The event proves one of the biggest annual fundraisers for Greatham in Bloom, which works to improve the appearance of the village and leads its entry in the Northumbria in Bloom competition.

The popular event had been due to take place on Sunday, February 20 but high winds brought by Storm Eunice saw the walk postponed by one week for walkers safety.

During the event, Greatham Community Centre was open during the afternoon, offering hot drinks and sweet treats for walkers.

In 2019, the village won a gold medal in the competition and in the previous year it won the trophy for Best Village.

The Hospital of God, founded in 1273, works to provide care for the elderly and continues today.

The walk regularly attracts hundreds of visitors and in the past has seen more than £1,000 raised for the Greatham in Bloom group.

The event is used to signal spring is on the way and also celebrate the natural beauty of the area.

Visitors are told some of the myths, legends and amazing facts about the delicate flowers at the event.

One such fact was that the snowdrop is a source of the drug Galantamine, which is useful in the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease and other memory impairments.

Greatham in Bloom is a small but dedicated band of volunteers with the aim of enhancing the village environment through the effective use of flowers, shrubs and trees.

Each year the group enter the Northumbria in Bloom competition in the "mid-sized village" category.

The group encourage pride in where they live and always on the look out for more volunteers. To find out more about Greatham in Bloom, visit http://www.greathamvillage.co.uk/main/greatham-in-bloom-6

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