Coastal wildflowers already out We took the campervan a few miles up the South Coast from Sussex coast towards Kent for a one night trip this spring. This is what happens when you share a house with adult children – you get kicked out from time to time! We were so lucky with the lovely…
Category: Nature
Watching nature – birds and bees in my garden, or larger animals further afield.
Online resources – wild plant ID
Identifying plants using a computer When I identify a plant I tend to start with the flower. It’s very rare for me to ID a plant that’s not in flower unless it’s very familiar. Personally, being a keen gardener has helped a lot with identifying flowers, because years of mulling over seed catalogues tends to…
Autumn Nature outings
Spotting wildflowers on our weekends away In September and October Mike and I went on various trips in Ethel the campervan and were lucky with the weather! Early Sept – by the Great Ouse river in St Neots Cambridgeshire We took the van to a peaceful riverside location and went for walks along the banks….
Verdant New Forest Oct 2020
On a visit to New Milton in Hampshire last October, we walked along the coast and inland in the New Forest. Flora of the coast near Hurst Castle Hurst Castle is near New Milton. There was plenty of vegetation growing in amongst the pebbles, although not so many flowers. Sea campion – Silene maritima I…
Nature on the river at Chertsey
Last August we visited the river Thames We camped by the riverbank and went on nature walks We took our campervan to a campsite by the river in Chertsey in Surrey and found a spot that was great for watching groups of canoers taking on the weir for sport. It’s a lovely area and there…
South Downs Way at Alfriston Sussex
Short hike up a hill with flowers and views After lock-down was relaxed a little we took the kids for a short hike up the chalky Downs behind Alfriston in Sussex. In case you wonder how we managed to persuade a twenty year old and an eighteen year old to get exercise – we lured…
Local wildflowers in February and March
Seaford walks in early Spring Health walks around town spotting wild flowers February was a very wet month and there wasn’t much to see, after all the early bloomers in January, so I’ve lumped it together with March. It has been very mild though and I don’t think there has been any frost round here…
April Nature in the New Forest near Brockenhurst
Birdwatching from a shepherds hut Mike and I were lucky enough to have two nights in a shepherds hut in the New Forest in early April. Set in farmland, the front door was only about four metres away from Roydon Woods Nature Reserve Although there was no direct access to the Wildlife Trust site, it…
Spring at Cuckmere Haven Sussex
Birdwatching near Seaford A couple of weeks ago I signed up for a beginners birdwatching morning with Mike Russell through Sussex Wildlife Trust It was mid April and a fresh but overcast day. Thirteen of us met up in the car park next to the river, and Mike took us for an amble along the…
Spotting wildflowers along the river Stour in Canterbury
Following the Great Stour Way June wildflower walk I had a fab weekend away in Canterbury in the summer and went for a walk out of the city along the river Stour. I left the city to the Southwest and followed the Great Stour Way through Hambrook Marshes towards Chartham. Wildflower meadow Right at the…