Ups and downs

It's been another mixed week weather-wise, but in between the showers, I have been able to continue my explorations!

Last Saturday was a bit of a murky day, but perfect weather for walking. We started at Burgate Manor Farm, retracing my old school cross country route along the Avon Valley Path. This old diary farm has now diversified into holiday lets and less-intensive grazing, ensuring walkers no longer have to wade through slurry in the farmyard.

Almost immediately, you come upon the only suspension bridge in Hampshire, apparently built from an old military Bailey bridge, crossing a channel of the Avon as we make our way across the wide, flat floodplain.

Now extensively grazed by cattle, this vast plain was once irrigated watermeadow, with water levels carefully managed to enable early grass growth for livestock. It's now a haven for wildlife, especially in the winter, with flocks of wading birds descending on the wetlands, making it internationally important for several species, and thus legally protected.

Our route continued out the other side of the floodplain, and up a terrace into the New Forest, with amazing views over the wide sweeping meander of the river. We continued on our own meandering route, through small meadows and patches of ancient woodland, coming out at Frankenbury Iron Age hill fort, skirting part of the hilariously-named Sandy Balls holiday park. We then looped back and retraced our steps through the farmyard.







The following day, with the sun shining, and after a lovely pub lunch with friends, we headed up to the Cherhill White Horse north of Devizes. This is apparently the third oldest in Britain, dating from the late 18th century. Right next to it, on the high ridge, is the Lansdowne Monument, apparently built just to catch the eye in 1845, and currently cordoned off while funds are raised to restore it. The views down across the flat land north of Calne are stunning, with the grassland itself a haven for chalk downland species so typical of Wiltshire. Indeed, on our walk up, we spied numerous butterflies including speckled wood (in the shady hedgerow-lined path) and a possible Adonis blue.

And finally, taking a cheeky day off mid-week, I went on a long-ish loop at Grovely Wood, near Wilton. distracted by blackberries (lots - Autumn is coming!) we eventually found our way back onto the main avenue, spying interesting clumps of fungi along the way.

I feel like I've seen the last vestiges of Summer with the very beginnings of Autumn.

Think that was summer...

Yes, it definitely feels like the nights are drawing in and autumn is imminent. The blackberries are nearly ready, the plums on my tree are ripening, and I'm starting to get some raspberries too.

But, on the wildlife side, there's still a lot of summer going on out there. From my quick walks after work down to the river - accompanied by the second brood of speckled wood butterflies flitting along the tree-lined path - to the flowering buddleia attracting tonnes of butterflies in my garden.

And when we walked into town in the drizzle on Saturday, the riverbank was looking beautiful - a mosaic of purple loosestrife and fleabane, proving that nature completely gets the colour wheel (purple and yellow are on opposite sides - a perfect compliment).

However, what with the patchy drizzle, wind, and very-active butterflies, not any pictures I'm afraid.

But on Sunday we braved the weather - and the tourist hordes - and pottered around Bath for the day. One way of avoiding the crowds was to walk through the lovely botanic gardens - the residents of Bath are very lucky to have this enormous greenspace on their doorstep. the highlight of our walk around here was actually the leopard slug hiding in one of the monuments in the park. This large slug is known to pursue other slugs for dinner at the top speed of 15cm a minute (thanks Wikipedia), and mates suspended on a mucus string. I bet you'll all be looking for leopard slugs now!

Come rain come shine

Of course, it's mostly been 'shine' for the last few weeks, but even when we had that hideous weekend a couple of weeks ago, we still ventured out!

Actually, when we arrived in Mudeford near Christchurch, it wasn't too bad - very windy but only occasional rain. It did mean the Mudeford Arts Festival was much reduced in size, but after a quick amble along the quay and pub lunch, we decided to brave the conditions for a walk. The waves were quite spectacular - lots of windsurfers out in force - as we walked along the beach, passing the colourful beach huts.

Part of this coast is legally protected as a SSSI, primarily for its geology and erosional processes - lots of slumping clays, sands and gravels, which also make excellent habitat for reptiles and insects. Not that they were evident that day!

This weekend was a different story - baking heat as we walked across St Catherine's Hill into Winchester and back via the Itchen Navigation. Despite the sun-baked ground, there were still enough flowers (knapweed, small scabious, wild carrot etc) to tempt the butterflies down for a sip of nectar. So many fighting chalkhill blues, tussling in the air and making it nearly impossible to photograph their beauty!

And I've just got back from a short foray around Laverstock Down on the outskirts of Salisbury. Again, very sun-baked, but still some flowers present - birds foot trefoil, dwarf thistle, wild carrot, ladies bedstraw, knapweed. Unfortunately the windy conditions rather kept the butterflies at bay, but it was still great to see the vivid patches of colour and the various exquisite flower forms. And lots of sloes on the way too!

The weather looks to be taking a turn for the worse again, but don't we need it?!