Blog Archives: Travel by Rail

#WildEssex – a walk along Mistley Walls

A sunny day sandwiched between rain, rain and more rain –  we were so lucky that our Mistley bird walk turned out to be then!  So lovely to be out in the sunshine, though we were all glad of our gloves and hats as the wind was keen (as Jude’s Mum would have said!).

We kicked off with lunch in The Crown pub which coped with our various dietary requirements admirably  – this place seems to be going up in the world with some refurbishments inside and out. It really is the perfect spot to eat and enjoy views of the estuary, right over to Brantham and Holbrook. Restaurant | The Crown Manningtree | Manningtree

Our walk followed the banks of the Stour from Manningtree to Mistley, looking at the bird life being pushed up to us on the rising tide. The numbers of birds were perhaps not as many as we had hoped for – why was this?  Well, possibly we were slightly late in the season, the cold weather definitely a factor, and worryingly perhaps bird flu has taken a toll. We sadly saw a dead gull on the shore. ‘Social distancing’ isn’t something birds would know about, and Mistley can be a ‘’go to’ gathering place for our feathered friends.

We saw the usual waders, all uniquely equipped with different bill- and leg-lengths enabling them to forage for different goodies in the mud: Black-tailed Godwits (many starting to moult into russet summer plumage), Redshanks, Turnstones, Dunlins and Avocets, with a lone Oystercatcher pecking about in the confines of the old outdoor swimming pool.

Various kinds of duck floated by, including Teals, Shelducks and Mallards, and a couple of Great Crested Grebes with their weird and wonderful head adornments dived for lunch in the deeper waters of the Port as we looked on. Our local celebrity species, Dark-bellied Brent Geese were visible both out on the water in number and nearer the shore in small groups. Each estuary of the Essex coast is internationally important for these charming little geese, together supporting a fifth of the entire world population, breeding in high Arctic Siberia.

Gulls provided entertainment with their squawks and antics. Lesser Black-backed Gulls (particularly handsome birds in our opinion) were demonstrating courtship behaviour; Black-headed Gulls acquiring their ‘black’ heads (actually brown) to make themselves look even more beautiful; Herring Gulls with their customary cries and scuffles for food.

In the Mistley Towers grounds Blackbirds were seen and Robins heard. A Chiffchaff sang its onomatopoeic song, reminding us that Spring really is here (despite the chill wind, and forecast overnight frost!). But as our regulars know, birds are only a small part of what we are about – and other aspects of nature were noticed and enjoyed: Holm Oak leaf-miners patterning the leaves; lichens in many different forms on tree trunks and on the ancient wall of Hopping Bridge; the corky bark growth of Elm; and a smattering of plants including Sweet Violet, Red Dead-nettle and White Comfrey being particularly interesting. Few actual insects were seen apart from a 7-spot Ladybird, though of course the leaf mines were showing evidence of mass insect activity, the adult moths to come later in the summer.

 

 

The whole area of the Mistley Walls is historic and interesting – well worth a visit.  The Towers, designed by Robert Adam, proudly demonstrate the wealth that was Mistley. The church constructed between the towers is now long dismantled, but the structures themselves were retained as seamarkers for vessels approaching the port. Nowadays the quay area is rather sad, all fenced off (despite ‘Free the Quay’ campaigning for many years), but the local logistics company is clearly busy judging from the number of large lorries in and out. These vehicles no doubt contribute to the rather overwhelming volume of traffic along the Walls, bringing noise and pollution; although these factors were disturbing to we human beings, the resident (and many) local swans and geese seemed totally oblivious.

Ironically, it is these human intrusions that help to habituate the birds meaning the Walls are the best place to watch these normally shy creatures well anywhere on the Essex coast.

As always we were delighted that such a wonderful group of nature enthusiasts could join us and we look forward to the next WildEssex adventure…

 

 

 

Halifax: four seasons in three days….

Second in our series (after Coventry) of seemingly unlikely holiday destinations, Halifax has been on our radar for several years. Long before Happy Valley-mania, a friend told us of the renovation and reopening of the Piece Hall, and with our love of Industrial Architecture, our interest was piqued. After several false starts (yes, Covid!) we finally got to spend a couple of days there last week…

The Piece Hall, an 18th-century textile market (albeit masquerading as a Venetian piazza) is regarded as the most important secular building in Yorkshire, and it is really a cathedral to commerce, the commerce that shaped West Yorkshire. All was quiet on the days we visited, just right to appreciate the scale and design, and the disappearing vistas down the colonnades.

The Piece Hall alone justified our visit, but there was so much more in the town, from the 19th-cntury Town Hall, designed by Charles Barry (he of the Palace of Westminster fame), to the numerous mills all in various stages of being upcycled into use once again.

And all buildings looking better than in the not-too-distant past, the honey-coloured stone (especially beautiful in sunlight) having been released from the smoky black legacy of the Industrial Revolution. All except for the oldest building, the Minster (dating back to around 1450) which was presumably too fragile and precious to withstand sandblasting: it still shows the soot of ages.

Pleasantly rustic inside, with some lovely, almost-clear windows showing their leaded tracery to advantage, this church was remodelled by yet another eminent Victorian architect, George Gilbert Scott.

As is our wont, we did of course seek out the green. A walk alongside the River Hebble provided just that, with mosses and ferns clothing stone walls, and last-year’s Self-heal bringing a touch of botanical art.

And it was art (and architecture), intentional and otherwise, that sent us through Leeds on the way to Halifax as we changed trains.

The beautiful blue skies of our arrival, however, didn’t last, and as the third day dawned, Storm Larisa was making her presence felt. Just time for a quick jaunt to see a friend in Sowerby Bridge, then make tracks homewards before the return of winter left us stranded…

Coventry: city of hope and reconciliation, architecture and art – and wildlife

Why Coventry? The question we were often asked when we said we were going away for a couple of days there. Pretty much the same as most people’s view of our home, Essex. But always with an open mind and a sense of urban adventure, we went…and loved it! Helped by two days of glorious winter sunshine and cloudless cobalt skies, good food and drink, welcoming locals and a tangible Christmas spirit as the first hard frosts of winter were unleashed.

Of course the two cathedrals were always going to be a centrepiece, the old, bombed one embracing the modern in a much-needed gesture of reconciliation. Particularly beautiful and poignant in the sunlight were the remnant fragments of stained glass in the mediaeval window tracery…

… but the ruins exuded a tranquility that transcends its troubled past, a great place to contemplate the sculptures and watch the Peregrines on the still-standing steeple.

The new cathedral was no less stunning, with a warm welcome and the ever-changing play of light, shadow and colour from the amazing stained glass and internal architecture:

Elsewhere in the city, an array of unexpected treasures, buildings old and new, the Art Deco interior of our Premier Inn, and even guerrilla shadow-art…

As so often in urban areas, it was the waterways that provided the green arteries of life. The Canal Basin we sought out would probably have merited more time (and a few extra degrees Centigrade!)…

… while the River Sherbourne we stumbled upon by accident, apparently a project area for Warwickshire Wildlife Trust and partners to bring nature into the lives of the city residents. How thankful we should be for such initiatives, giving us the chance to see the surprising (to us) sight of a Little Egret flying out of the shallows into a riverside tree. All very unexpected so close to the city centre, and rendered even more magical with its early morning tracery of frost.

#WildEssex on Tour: Burnham and the River Crouch

A first for #WildEssex – a few days away to a place far enough away to make it seem like a holiday, but not too far, with the necessities – both good wildlife and pleasant pubs 😊.  What more could we have wanted?  Well, Chris’ leg being in better shape may have speeded up the whole thing, but actually a slow pace with frequent opportunities to stop, look and listen fitted perfectly with the whole ethos of Wild Essex. The weather played ball, our group of ladies gelled brilliantly and made the whole experience a lot of fun. So thank you all!

Burnham-on-Crouch is a pretty place with maritime running through all its veins. Some of us resided in one of the ancient waterside pubs, Ye Olde White Harte, complete with lots of beams and quirkiness. Others chose to set up camp together ‘The Camper Van Three’ in their delightful touring vans.  The weather was pretty kind to us – one evening having the best sunset ever (even by Wivenhoe standards)…

… and that on the second evening was almost as impressive!

The ever-changing tides gave us constantly shifting views of the River Crouch – both for the birdlife and for the yachts and other boats moored along the riverside and at the yacht harbour.

Our amblings took us both east and west from Burnham and on the final morning we took a short but very enjoyable boat trip over to Wallasea island, now an RSPB reserve fashioned out of Crossrail spoil on top of a low-lying island previously used for intensive agriculture.

The birdlife here was somewhat disappointing, although we know that come the wintertime it will be teeming with birdlife. We were hoping to spend a whole day there but that was thwarted by the ferry not running the day we had planned; as it happened, the lack of a ferry was serendipitous given the dearth of birds.

On other days, Riverside Park, part of which is a brownfield site (so important for invertebrate life especially) and a de facto Nature Reserve, provided us with lots to admire, and we were impressed with Burnham Wick Farm, a working farm which strives to promote and help wildlife along with their daily raison d’etre of growing food.

During Chris’ ‘Sit-down Sessions’ we had the chance to think about and discuss tides and the moon; the importance of oysters, both in the past and now trying to restore Native Oyster stocks; the conflicts about how best to use our land – food, solar power, wind power, wild spaces, housing? – plus a lot else besides.

So what did we actually see?  We have compiled a list (see here Burnham lists)…., but some of the highlights included:

PLANTS – Sea Buckthorn with its cacophony of Starlings, the berries of the plant now sometimes used in superfood cooking (as an interested passer-by told us) which we tasted but were not particularly impressed with; Sea Aster in all its forms on the marshes; the ‘menagerie’ of plants, Bristly Ox-tongue, Common Fleabane, Goat’s Rue, Slender Hare’s-ear, Buck’s-horn Plantain, Autumn Hawkbit, Dogwood and more; many other fruiting species, often abundantly, including Buckthorn and Holm Oak; whole swards of Strawberry Clover and Narrow-leaved Bird’s-foot-trefoil; plus the beautiful Common Reed, its leaves showing the Devil’s teeth marks – and one of the few plants you can actually identify from the sound it makes in the breeze – known as ‘psithurisim ‘  (thanks Annie!).

INVERTEBRATES – Garden Spider, an amazingly bright Clouded Yellow butterfly, burnet moth cocoons, plus Ivy Bees homing in on the abundant Ivy flowers, Long-winged Cone-head, Forest Bug and Parent Bugs in a variety of colourways.

BIRDS – shore birds including Little Egret, Black Tailed Godwits and Ringed Plovers, Sandwich Terns, gulls and Cormorants; woodland species including several kinds of tit, Meadow Pipits and Swallows migrating through, noisy Cettis Warblers plus overhead Buzzard, Marsh Harrier and Kestrel.

OTHER wildlife delights included fungi (the bracket fungus on Sea Buckthorn proved to be Fomitiporia hippophaeicola, with no previous Essex records shown on the National Biodiversity Network map) and lichens, galls, a Harbour Seal bobbing about, a Brown Hare, a Harvest Mouse nest and various kinds of poo!

So all in all, although things didn’t go entirely to our original plan, we had a great time and really hoping we can organise another Wild Essex On Tour trip next year. Please let us know if you would be interested in being kept in touch about this.

#WildEssexWalks: Harwich Foreshore and Beach

Lovely sunshine greeted us when we all assembled on Harwich Halfpenny Pier this morning.  This was the first time we had organised an outing to Harwich and hope that everyone enjoyed as much as we did.

We wandered from the Halfpenny Pier, via the sandy beach near the New Bell pub, right along the foreshore as far as the Low Lighthouse. From then on we followed the promenade as far as the Banksy spraycation (?) mural at Stone Point, where Harwich turns into Dovercourt.

So what did we see?

Birdlife – Sandwich Terns ( including one being harried by a Herring Gull), Little Egret, Turnstones, Oystercatchers and the ubiquitous gulls.

Plants – some specialities of coastal areas, most of which are very uncommon given that their habitat is restricted to a thin sliver where the sea meets the land: Sea Rocket, Rock Samphire, Prickly Saltwort, Sea Holly, Sea Spurge and more…

… along with the rather less welcome invasive Japanese Rose, starting to colonise the low dunes.

Insects – not many, just the occasional butterfly and Meadow Grasshopper, but also a rather interesting (and rare) fly – Dune Villa.

Products of the Sea – shells were discussed, with particular reference to Oysters, from former abundance to severe decline, but now hope in the form of the Essex Native Oyster Restoration Inititative; and fossils, especially sharks’ teeth. One of our group found one in the morning, but later in the day we (plus Chris’ family over from Germany) spent some time looking and each found one. So worth looking for next time you visit Harwich beach.  Lots of seaweeds but these will be a topic of a future walk.

Geology – the Harwich Stone Band (not a pop group), which defines Harwich as the only natural rocky shore in Essex. The band formed from an ash layer from volcanoes 50 million years ago which settled in that area and became compacted to form a layer of rock.

Other life – the tail of a Common Lizard seen disappearing into the undergrowth and these two in their rather groovy new tee shirts!

#WildEssex – Furze Hill, Mistley

A gorgeous day blessed our walk at Mistley today.  What contrast to our Wrabness trip a month before!

Several of us ( including the special co-leader, Eleanor) arrived by train and immediately tucked into a good coffee and cake from the Zero Waste van-man at Mistley Station. When all were assembled we set off through Edme works (with that distinctive malty smell permeating the air), under the railway line and into the first of our varied habitats – a field used sometimes to graze cattle, but today was just full of Meadow Buttercups  and other wild flowers, such as new-sprung Hogweed flowers round the margins and fungi sprouting on the sites of now long-gone cowpats.

And of course there was also the grasses, many species in fresh flower, and both diverse and beautiful as shown by this Cock’s-foot and Yorkshire-fog.

A Small Tortoiseshell skipped between buttercups, and the big old parkland trees held both Jackdaws and Rooks, whose cawing rose to a crescendo as a Raven swept in (no doubt on the lookout for an easy chick meal) – a dramatic addition to the Essex skyscape over the past five years.

At the foot of Furze Hill, the local springs that led to the 18th century marketing of Mistley Thorn as a spa town coagulate into a streamline fringed with massive Alder trees, harbouring singing Wrens, Blackcaps and a Song Thrush. The leaves were covered in the small galls of the microscopic mite Eriophyes laevis.

A pleasant walk along a leafy lane ensued (welcome shade!) – many wayside and woodland flowers to be admired, from blue Alkanet and Germander Speedwell, to yellow Wood Avens and white Cow Parsley (going over) and Ground Elder (freshly out), along with many Nettles supporting a myriad of insect life.

After a short walk through a woodland clearing we arrived on to the rec ground where we divided into two groups. Eleanor and Granny went to spend a happy hour on the swings whilst the more ‘grown-up? 😊’ ones enjoyed a walk through the woodland, admiring the natural beauty, in particular the ancient trees.

Of these Old Knobbley was, of course, the star attraction.  According to a rather lovely book by Morag Embleton ‘Old Knobbley the Oak Tree’, it is some 1000 years old and has seen a lot of changes!  Chris’  blogs have more information too Furze Hill, Mistley: home to the Ancients | Chris Gibson Wildlife and #BringingNatureToYou : branching out to Furze Hill, Mistley | Chris Gibson Wildlife.

Then where Brambles were bursting into flower, another natural resource was being exploited to the full by Honeybees, bumblebees, Red Admirals and many others, including late-instar nymphs of Red-legged Shield bug Speckled Woods and numerous Gold-barred Longhorn Moths sunning themselves on the leaves.

We completed our session with a stroll over the recreation field itself, which in places has avoided too-regular mowings and been allowed to grow.  Lots of Birds-foot-trefoil (a favourite of bees and Common Blue butterflies) was blooming, together with Lesser Stitchwort, Common Cat’s-ear, Mouse-eared Hawkweed and Sheep’s Sorrel, indicating the sandy nature of the soil. A briskish walk up School Lane back to the station brought the morning to a close.

As always the pleasure was ours, and we hope that everyone enjoyed the experience.  Some of the group continued into Manningtree for a lunch, and we carried on to Harwich to spend the afternoon on the beach.

Looking forward to seeing you all before long, and just to finish with a final mention to be sure to check yourselves for ticks after a countryside walk these days.  Ticks – advice on protection, prevention and removal | Scouts

 

#WildEssex Walks: Wrabness and the Stour Estuary

Rain, rain and more rain…a feature of our half day walk around beautiful spots of Wrabness, but hopefully not the only memory to be taken away😊 . Our thanks to everyone for their perseverance….’it may brighten up later’….but despite the less-than-perfect conditions we still got a flavour of this relatively unspoilt area, and we hope that it was worth getting a bit damp for!

The morning got off to a mixed start – slight issues with the car-parking payment facilities but the prospect of a coffee and use of a loo in the little community shop more than made up for any initial annoyances. We covered quite a distance over the four hours, our first port of call being the House for Essex, the whacky but very interesting Grayson Perry creation.  If you get the chance, do try to visit this on a sunny day, when the whole exterior seems to shine and glow. And to our eyes at least a very fitting addition to the newly-designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

Next, East Grove was a pleasant little diversion from the main route – a perfect little woodland boasting many plants, including Butcher’s Broom, Bugle, Greater Stitchwort and of course Bluebells aplenty.

The juxtaposition of tidal mud and ancient woodland is exceptionally rare in Essex, and the smell of the estuary was a feast for the nose!

 

Peering out from the trees, we could see a couple of hundred Dark-bellied Brent Geese on the shoreline. The icon of the Essex coast in winter (we are home to a fifth of the world’s population), the Stour is one of its renowned departure points for its return migration…

…and sure enough, a chorus of burbling, and off they went. Next stop the Taimyr Peninsula? Or at least a staging post in the Baltic.

Walking along the seawall we were able to admire many other shore birds: Shelducks, Oystercatchers, Little Egrets and  more. The quiet conditions (hardly any people on foot and a welcome lack of light aircraft overhead which seem to enjoy being noisy), and the damp, still air made Bird Listening (as opposed to Watching) an important part of the day. Farmland birds were in full voice, including Skylarks, Whitethroats and Lesser Whitethroats, with more distant Cuckoo, Nightingale and Yellowhammer.

Along this stretch we found virtually the only insects of any note – St Mark’s Flies.  These dangly-legged beasties emerge at roughly the same time as our hirundine visitors, providing food for them after their long flights from Africa. Among the big boys was a smaller, more colourful species, Downland Bibio.

An innocuous field of peas turned out to have a fascinating story – these have been bred to be leafless, the leaflets now being just tendrils which twirl around each other allowing the plants to huddle together, as protection from wind and heavy rains etc. Something we were having to come to terms with ourselves! And some of the Oak trees along the cliff-edge were already laden with galls, even on the leaves which must have burst only a week ago. One or two had huge numbers of large Oak-apples, on one of which we found a micro-hyperparasite, a tiny, long-tailed wasp, presumably a parasite of the gall-causer, itself a tiny wasp!

Next part of the route was along the beach.  Of interest was the geology – the cliffs (SSSI) showing ‘ash layers’ in among the London clay… visible evidence of when these parts were covered in ash from volcanic activity in Caledonia many millions of years ago.  The rocks – part of the Harwich Stone Band (forerunner of the Rolling Stones??) – from which local VIP buildings such as Colchester Castle have been partially constructed – were all around, to be admired, and some adorned with festoons of seaweed. This beach and a similar one at Harwich are the only natural rocky shores between north Norfolk and north Kent.

Rocks and fallen trees  provided a kind of make-your-bum-wet perch on which to eat lunch, though some sensible people in our group found a nice dry boat under tree canopy to eat theirs!  The conditions weren’t really conducive to leisurely beach-combing, but a few shells of interest were found, including Portuguese Oysters (a rampant non-native, potentially squeezing out our local native variety), Slipper Limpets, Cockles in a variety of attractive colours and a Shore Crab’s carapace. Another highlight of the shore walk was seeing the Sand Martins’ nests in the sandy banks – one of only three natural martin nesting sites in Essex.

Onward and up the bank onto the footpath we wended our way into the Essex Wildlife Nature reserve.  By now the wet weather was starting to really take its toll. The rain soaking up from my feet was meeting that dripping down from my coat, and we began to think we should call it a day a bit earlier than originally planned.  This meant missing out the Woodland Burial Site, but perhaps next time! The Nature Reserve – an important site, luckily rescued from development proposals – really does need visiting in the warm (see our evening visit last year, when conditions were perfect…  Wrabness Nature Reserve on a summer’s evening | Chris Gibson Wildlife ). Today there was no insect life whatsoever, but a few plants were worth a mention – Field Horsetail (diminutive relative of the giants from which our coal was laid down, eons ago), White Ramping Fumitory, Spotted Medick and Cowslip – and the many funnel-web spider webs, liberally laced with mercurial droplets…

The birds were not performing as we had hoped. Not a peep from the local Nightingales nor the Corn Buntings. But one important memory that we must take back from the nature reserve was the purring sound of the Turtle Doves…sadly such a rare thing to hear these days, due to merciless hunting in certain Mediterranean countries and the lack of suitable habitat (all they can find are agricultural wastelands ravaged by pesticides and totally lacking the seeds of ‘weeds’) for those that do manage to make it.  But here at least they can find sanctuary.

At this point our group began to separate – some heading for an earlier train, whilst others of us wandered at a more leisurely pace back to the station.  A little stop at the church (unfortunately not open to allow a sit down!), was worth a few minutes of our time, if only to see Annie inside the bell-cage.  Apparently the church tower collapsed in the 17th century, when the bell was ‘caged’, and seemingly that is where it will stay for evermore. And further along the road, we encountered the second of The Twelve Days of Christmas birds – Partridges (Red-legged varieties) which were enjoying the pea-fields.

Again thanks to everyone who stuck with us, and hope that we can repeat this, in more favourable conditions another year.  Writing this, having been home an hour or so, the sun is shining and we can’t help thinking ‘if only….’…

Our sunny spring break on the East Sussex coast: a photoblog

The first three days of the early spring sun-wave (not really a heatwave, due to the chill winds from the east) fortunately coincided with our short break on the East Sussex coast. Bright sunshine, dawn ’til dusk, and almost unbroken azure skies: a recipe for exploration, photography and wildlife.

We have visited Rye on several occasions before but this time seemed different. The cobbled streets we remember, but not the cobbles being set in a dwarf grassy meadow: hopefully this is the result of a deliberate backlash against the ravages of Roundup.

Eastbourne too kept us busy for a day, with traditional seaside activities (our first free-range ice-cream of the year) and an excellent exhibition at the Towner Gallery, very moving and thought-provoking at these times of appalling conflict in our very own continent…

… while Hastings completed our stay with its diverse mix of landscapes, seascapes and details.

#WildEssex walks: the rising tide at Mistley…

Thank to all who joined us this week for our inaugural Wild Essex walks in Mistley. Two walks in two days, both timed to see the last two hours before high water, the estuary birds being forced up the Stour before our eyes in the face of that advancing waters. It was a new destination, enjoyed by all, and somewhere we will no doubt visit again. Doing the two walks also showed how different the tide can be between days: presumably a function of air pressure, the exposed mud at Mistley Quay at the same time relative to High Water was only a fraction on the second day of that on the first. The  numbers and variety of birds were perhaps less than had been anticipated, but the recent gales had no doubt forced some to take refuge in more sheltered areas..

We met at Mistley station and it was good that some chose to travel by train (and we shall aim to promote public transport on some of our future events, where practicable). The changeable weather saw high wind gusts, showers of rain, sunny spells and rainbows over Suffolk, all of which added to the experience.

In total 46 species of bird were totted up over the two days (see attached list). No real surprises, but was good to see some of the less well-known ducks on the estuary including Pintails and Goldeneyes.  Swans were everywhere – on the water by the quay and sleeping all over the verges and on the sandy shore. They and indeed all the other birds seem pretty oblivious to human beings and passing traffic – shows how things can become habituated, and why this site is arguably the very best place to see with ease a good selection of the three quarters of a million northerly-breeding water birds that visit the Essex coast every winter.

Two of the most important wading bird populations on this stretch are the Black-tailed Godwits and Avocets. First day, the godwits numbered barely a hundred, but the second there were at 800; conversely some 200 Avocets were feeding along the channel only a couple of hundred meters away on Tuesday, but Wednesday, they (and more) were right across the other side hugging the Suffolk shoreline.

Among the six species of gull that were frequenting the Port was one splendid Mediterranean Gull, a long-stayer in these parts and just coming into breeding plumage. Day 1 it remained stubbornly on the sand-bar, but next day it was on the quayside fence and even taking bread from from the hands of the bird feeders…and fending off the hordes of Black-headed Gulls single-handedly.

Spending a few moments looking over Hopping Bridge to the lake which is part of Mistley Place Park, an animal rescue centre, we listened for woodland birds and heard a selection, all added to our list, along with Moorhens, an Egyptian Goose and one one day only a single Little Egret. Rather surprising the almost lack of egrets, but they could have been displaced by the storms.

Local folklore has it that Matthew Hopkins (infamous Witchfinder General) is buried in the park, but no proof has ever been found. And still on the historical theme, we took a short detour into the graveyard surrounding the two famous Mistley towers Mistley Towers | English Heritage (english-heritage.org.uk) part of the planned re-development of Mistley Thorn as a spa town 350 years ago.

In addition to birds, we noted some spring flowers – crocus, snowdrops (very appropriate in a week that Galanthomania came to the fore Snowdrop bulb sells for a record-busting £1,850 – Gardens Illustrated – pretty things …but…..! ) In addition, Sweet Violets, Stinking Iris fruits, Winter Heliotrope leaves and London Plane tree bark added to the visual feast.

To Scotland by train …

In September, our first real holiday since the start of the pandemic saw us heading to Scotland by train, our preferred mode of transport, with ferries and bus to help join the dots.

First to Glasgow, our favourite city, although this time mainly for sleeping (and breakfasts at our traditional haunt of the G5 deli in the Gorbals). Days out north and south of the Clyde introduced us first to Helensburgh. There the main attraction was The Hill House, the Mackintosh masterpiece of design, albeit wrapped in its protective chainlink coat…

Its garden too was full of ‘no mow lawns’, and an array of interesting plants and insects:

… and the lower, riverside town, while less affluent, had lots of Eiders and another lovely eating place (Riva, on the promenade), kicking off the seafood extravaganza (for me) that our holiday became.

Next trip was via the ferry from Gourock to Dunoon, a short crossing but one which featured Harbour Porpoises in considerable numbers.

Dunoon churchyard and gardens gave us lots of lichens, along with a few insects…

…while the stony beach produced lots of Ray’s Knotgrass and a strandline flora of Tomatoes and Sunflowers!

And not forgetting the next gastronomic delight on the roof terrace of the newly-opened Tryst restaurant…

Moving on, the less said about Oban the better, apart from its Hooded Crows, Black Guillemots and the very best meal of our holiday in the Lorne Bar, just off the main drag, and so really good value. Seafood soup and mussels to beat all comers!

And then off to Coll, to meet up with our friends @Wildsmiths, looked after by them and Coll Hotel (great food at both venues once again) for four days. Four grey and damp days, with barely a sliver of sunshine). And midges….but this is Scotland!

Both ferry crossings were grey and calm, and the return very misty, our foghorn ricocheting off the mountains as we traversed the Sound of Mull simply adding to the atmosphere. Auks, Gannets, Bonxies and a few Manx and Sooty Shearwaters came close enough to see, as did Harbour and Grey Seals, Porpoises, dolphins and a brief (probably Minke) whale.

On the island, there was a myriad of natural delights, from misty views (very occasionally sprinkled with sunshine magic)…

… to dewdrop delights …

… to plants we don’t see at home….

… and those we could only feasibly see in a place like Coll, especially the last few flowers of Irish Lady’s-tresses, and the Pipewort, as Greg memorably said, like liquorice allsorts on knitting needles, set at jaunty angles…

… and so much more, from Buoy Barnacles to beach trees, porpoising seals to jellyfish,  the sheep rock to the largest sand dunes I have ever seen in the UK, hosting more Bloody Crane’s-bill than I have ever spotted before, and here with its seriously rare mite gall…

   

Rather more prosaically, the Vine Weevil on the quay  (according to the National Biodiversity Network map has not been found previously on the island…

Back to the mainland it was then across the country to Berwick-upon-Tweed. Naturally bridges feature heavily in our photo coverage.

But again so much more: buildings, boats and the harbour…

… and, the poor weather again notwithstanding, a selection of insects and birds.

So a great holiday, the memories of which have sadly lasted longer than our bottle of Coll Gin. Liquid Coll atmosphere, all Bog Myrtle and seaweed, a sip or two of that  brought the sights, sounds, scents and flavours flooding back for a few weeks!

Autumn approaches on the River Crouch

A great couple of days exploring the less known (to us) parts of the Crouch for our book. The weather may not have been too great but it certainly made for moody, moisty landscapes…

Some landscapes bore the hallmarks of autumn, dead Hemlock weaving filigree patterns in the sky, while the year-round winter of Dutch elm disease is still rife in the Dengie.

Saltmarshes in contrast are still blooming away, with Sea Wormwood and Sea Aster only just past their best…

… while Sea-blite dons its autumn coat, fifty shades of green.

Invertebrates included Long-winged Conehead, the egg sac of a Wasp Spider and larvae of the Plum Slug-sawfly.

Among the many other highlights: the wonderful agri-environment work at Burnham Wick Farm (apparently successful as Corn Buntings and Linnets were everywhere), outstanding food at the Oyster Smack Inn, and the helpful, friendly service of the Burnham Ferryman Mark Phillips, giving us an easy window into the wildlands of Wallasea Island. We will be back!