A short evening wander around Astley Abbotts and Colemore Green. The sun is low, highlighting the undergrowth and bringing out the colours, the birds are singing – and it’s not raining!
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But will it stop raining? It was dry for a time this morning, and we almost got back to the house without getting wet… Despite the weather, the season is moving along. The wild rose is coming into flower, and there’s a yellowhammer in the oak tree.
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We’ll stay very close to home… A typical bank holiday – showery rain forecast, and (yet again) looking better in the morning. Shirlett, along the lane to the chocolate gate, will be far enough.
The last photo – we’re home again: it’s the unmown bit of the back garden, where the common spotted orchids are coming up in their dozens, if not hundreds (the benefits of benign neglect!)
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Deja vu – at 9am, the forecast thought it could be showery this afternoon, so we’re out before lunch – same route as last Saturday, when the forecast was similar too. At 2pm, as I write, the forecast showers seem to have vanished. “Sunny intervals”…
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Colourful at this time of year! After more than 24 hours of rain, the well-made pathways through Comer Woods could be ideal. There’s a little mud away from the main routes, but it’s not a problem, and it’s very pleasant to wander here.
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We’re in quiet south-west Shropshire today, walking in the woods to finish up at Bury Ditches, a fine hill fort with extensive views over the surrounding countryside. Under a clear blue sky and in strong sunshine, it’s very pleasant to walk in the cool air on the fringes of the woodland, where conifers give way to deciduous trees, the sunshine dappling the pathways. The day’s high point in every sense is the fort, where a clear path winds along the rim of the main earthwork, through heather and glowing broom. Finally, a short straight path leads back down to the start.
Bury Ditches (Forestry England)
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A wander on a hazy morning – there could be some rain around this afternoon. Doesn’t seem long since the depths of winter when the verges and hedgerows were brown and bare. The scene has changed hugely in the last month or two.
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A wander beside the Severn, from Bedlam to the railway bridge and back
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A different day… The warm sunny weather ended (as it so often does) with thundery rain yesterday evening, and now it’s cooler and grey, with more rain to come. It’s a dry morning though – let’s see how the orchids are doing on the Wenlock Edge. We had high hopes after yesterday’s outing, but there were only a few, in the woods with the last remnants of the bluebells. Are we too late for the early purple orchids?
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We’re in the woods on Benthall Edge, a good place to be on a warm morning. There are still a few bluebells, though their season is more-or-less past. A few wood violets soldier on, and the swamp near the hall is full of beautiful water violets. Indigo: Not sure, but there are certainly some early purple orchids, the first we’ve seen this year. As one season ends, another begins.
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