IT’S still only January, but anyone wandering lonely as a cloud on York’s City Walls or near the University of York may all at once see a host of golden daffodils.

The flowers, stars of Wordsworth's famous 'Daffodils' poem, are usually thought of as archetypal spring blooms, providing a colourful display on the Walls and Clifford’s Tower over Easter.

But they are already blooming beautifully on a roundabout near the University’s Heslington East campus, and a few flowers have also appeared on the Walls embankments.

The early blooms appear to be a response to the relatively mild weather of recent weeks, although several cultivated varieties of daffodil do flower naturally in winter.

Meanwhile, despite recent chilly nights, and snow falling today in parts of the Dales, forecasters are predicting mild weather over the next few days, with temperatures in York potentially rising as high as 11C on Thursday and 13C on Friday.