This week’s circular pub walk was a 4.8 mile walk from Watersmeet, up the river to Ash Bridge then the long climb up to Barna Barrow, out on to the coast path around Countisbury Hill to the Blue Ball Inn.
From there I headed back along the Arnold’s Lynhay path, down to Lynrock Bridge and back up the river to Watersmeet.
In the woods, I came across a bloody-nosed beetle so-called as it will release a bitter-tasting red secretion from its mouth if disturbed.
Walking up to Barna Barrow there are lots of the wonderfully named Devil’s Bit Scabious flowers. The devil was so furious as to the success of this plant in curing all manner of ills including scabies, snake bites & even the plague that he bit away part of the roots hoping to put an end to its good works.
Out on the coast path I watched a Peregrine falcon patrolling the cliffs above Sillery Sands and then a pair of Kestrels hovering over Countisbury Hill.
Along Arnold’s Lynhay were plenty of Stonechats making their distinctive call which sounds like two stones being tapped together.
The thistles are covered in red Soldier beetles at the moment feeding on aphids and making more soldier beetles!
Then finally I managed to photograph a Purple Hairstreak butterfly. We rarely get to see these as they live up right at the tops of Oak trees but as the valley sides are so steep, the path is level with the tops of the trees. The female I saw has only a small band of purple on its wings so I’m still on the look out for a male which has much richer purple wings.
