Arrival in Broad Haven

We found the cottage, which is a part of a converted farm building, in a gloriously quiet area, just up from Little Haven. We are opposite the owners farmhouse, and it's idyllic!

Our holiday cottage in Broad Haven

... and part of the garden, leading to some woods.

One wind bent tree seen one late afternoon in the woods near our cottage 

Looking across Broad Haven beach from the war memorial. 

Saturday, our first full day, we took a walk from Broad Haven, near to where we were staying, to Little Haven – along the coastal path and back by the beach. Followed up with a really good fish & chip lunch. After lunch, a short drive north of Broad Haven beach and a walk back along the coastal path. Three Geocaches found for the day, including one Earth Cache. Not bad. 

Broad Haven beach with ripples left by the retreating tide. 

One of several caverns cut into the cliffs along this coast – this one was called the Foxhole I think 

Found on the beach near Little Haven, and left by the retreating tide. 

Great contrast between the blue sea and the stunning hedges of Gorse. 

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Hunstanton and Snettisham in Norfolk

One of the most eye catching things about Hunstanton in Norfolk, are the cliffs. The best time to see them is in a late evening summer evening - and we had just such conditions for these images.

The famous red and white striped cliffs are an eye-catching attraction. Why are the cliffs striped? The stripes in the cliffs are caused by layers of different coloured rock. The main layers are Carrstone and also Chalk. 

Carrstone is the brown layer and consists of sandstone - sand cemented together by iron oxide (rust). In places where the cement is stronger, the rock is darker and less crumbly. There are no fossils in this layer apart from a little fossilised wood. 

The red and white chalk is made of limestone. Limestone forms in warm tropical climates, which suggests that Hunstanton climate was once warmer than it is today. The colour of the red chalk is due to iron staining.

Patterns in the sand, made as the sea retreated.

On the famous cliffs is the imposing Hunstanton Lighthouse. A lighthouse has been here since 1665, but the present lighthouse was built in 1840, although it ceased operations in 1922 and became a private residence.

The wall is generally referred to as the Chapel of St Edmund. It existed in 1272 but was already a ruin by the Reformation. What survives is basically the south doorway, apparently Norman. You can make out the outline of the south wall of nave and chancel.

More dramatic is the lighthouse beyond it. I tried taking the photograph with the lighthouse beside the ruin, and then with the lighthouse through the south doorway - this is my effort above.

St. Mary's Church in the village of Snettisham has a 14th-century, 172-foot (52 m) high spire. Claimed by some to be "perhaps the most exciting decorated church in Norfolk".

It is certainly striking as you approach it. As it was locked, and is most of the time apparently, we did not get a chance to see inside.

Billy Goat Gruff - what a beard!

And last, a deer giving us a close up look, in the hope of food.


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Lots of water in Layham

After a period of heavy rain - again, the area had some great puddles and small flooded areas to wade in!. So Izobelle and Nanna made the most of the situation.

On my way to see the water.

Not so sure! 

Maybe it's OK

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Newstead Abbey fungi & gardens

We visited here while based in a log cabin in Sherwood. We were mainly looking for different fungi on this trip, so this visit combined an historic site, with some fungi hunting.

The former Augustinian abbey once belonged to Lord Byron and now has a Mixed Style romantic nineteenth century garden.

The priory of St. Mary of Newstead, a house of Augustinian Canons, was founded by King Henry II of England about the year 1170, as one of many penances he paid following the murder of Thomas Becket. Contrary to its current name, Newstead was never an abbey: it was a priory.

In the late 13th century, the priory was rebuilt and extended. It was extended again in the 15th-century, when the Dorter (A bedroom or dormitory, especially in a monastery.), Great Hall and Prior's Lodgings were added. The priory was designed to be home to at least 13 monks, although there appears to have been only 12 (including the Prior) at the time of the dissolution.

The Valor Ecclesiasticus of 1534 gave the clear annual value of this priory as £167 16s. 11½d. The considerable deductions included 20s. given to the poor on Maundy Thursday in commemoration of Henry II, the founder, and a portion of food and drink similar to that of a canon given to some poor person every day, valued at 60s. a year.

Despite the clear annual value of Newstead being below the £200 assigned as the limit for the suppression of the lesser monasteries, this priory obtained the doubtful privilege of exemption, on payment to the Crown of the heavy fine of £233 6s. 8d in 1537.

The surrender of the house was accomplished on 21 July 1539. The prior obtained a pension of £26 13s. 4d., the sub-prior £6, and the rest of the ten canons who signed the surrender sums varying from £5 6s. 8d. to £3 6s. 8d.

The lake was dredged in the late eighteenth century and the lectern, thrown into the Abbey fishpond by the monks to save it during the Dissolution of the Monasteries, was discovered. In 1805 it was given to Southwell Minster by Archdeacon Kaye where it still resides.

The value of these sums may seem small but they have to be multiplied by 300 (approx) to get today's value.

Satyr Pan - Classical Mythology. one of a class of woodland deities, attendant on Bacchus, represented as part human, part horse, and sometimes part goat and noted for riotousness and lasciviousness.

The Byron Oak, as it is known, was planted by the young George Byron, later to become one of Britain’s greatest poets, at Newstead Abbey, shortly after he inherited the estate from his great-uncle in 1798 at the age of 10. The oak, and the poem the Byron wrote about in 1807, tell a story that is eloquently relevant to oak collectors and indeed anyone involved with the planting of trees.

Brown Birch Bolette (Leccinum scabrum for Latin lovers) Seen in one of the gardens.

There were many fungi dotted about. This one appealed to me with the abbey as a backdrop

View along one of the paths to the abbey.

The stew ponds are believed to be medieval and to have been made by the monks. The large rectangular pond is believed to survive from the late 17th century garden. What is a stew pond? A stew pond or stew is a fish pond used to store live fish ready for eating. During the Middle Ages, stews were often attached to monasteries, to supply fish over the winter.

The gardens around the house were made by Mrs William Frederick Webb and her daughters between 1865 and 1900. They include a fern garden, a sub-tropical garden, a Spanish garden, a Japanese garden (c1900) and a rockery inspired by Benjamin Disreali's novel Venetia, which was set in Newstead Abbey. The Rose Garden was added by Nottingham City Council, in 1965, and occupies the old kitchen garden. 

Dawn Redwood

Beautiful autumn colours.


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Sherwood and lots of fungi

There is a certain appeal in woodlands this time of year, as the forest floor hides many fungi. With this in mind, we booked into a Cabin, not too far from Sherwood Forest. We saw many fungi, and below are just a few of them.

Our cabin nestling among the trees 

Dusky puffball (Lycoperdon nigrescens) 

Blackening Waxcap (Hygrocybe cornica 

Web Cap (Cortinarius varius) 

The interior of the cabin where we stayed. The site was a pleasant one, and the cabin spacious but above all the hot tub! 

Leopard Earthball (Sclceroderma areolatum)

A tree stump that looked amazingly like the head of a dog. 

Just liked the shapes of the trees and the light on the forest floor.

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Butterflies and Moths of 2014

Overall, 2014 was a good year for the number of different butterflies and moths we spotted and photographed. This is a good sample, but not all of them. I owe Rosey a huge debt when talking of these amazing insects, because are very much part of the world that fascinates her and she has infinite patience in identifying them. Thank you Rosey!

Angle Shades (Phlogophora meticulosa) An unmistakable and distinctive moth with pinkish-brown markings. The wings are folded along the body at rest which gives the impression of a withered autumn leaf. 

The adults are attracted to light and feed on flowers of Common Reed and other grasses and are frequently seen during the day, resting in the open, on walls, fences or vegetation. They overwinter as larvae so the caterpillars can be seen all year round, feeding in mild weather. They usually pupate in a cocoon just under the soil. 

Small Argent & Sable (Epirrhoe tristata) Although the markings can be variable, the distinctively chequered borders to the wings help to distinguish this moth from similar sized species. Some examples are superficially similar to the Argent & Sable, although that species is generally larger with a broken central dark band. Flies by day in sunshine and at dusk. 

The Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary is a delightful butterfly found in discrete colonies. Patrolling males can be seen flying a couple of feet from the ground, alternating a burst of rapid wing beats with a short glide, searching out freshly-emerged females in the surrounding scrub. The wing pattern, however, makes the adult butterfly difficult to follow in flight, it being much easier to observe this species when it is basking or nectaring on flowers of Bugle and other plants.This butterfly, like the Pearl-bordered Fritillary, gets its name from the series of "pearls" that run along the outside edge of the underside of the hindwing. The two species may be seen together at certain sites, although the Pearl-bordered Fritillary emerges a couple of weeks before the Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary and generally appears much paler as a result. 

Cinnabar moth - This species is so named due to the colour of the hindwings and the markings on the forewings which make it unmistakeable. There is little variation although on rare occasions the pinkish markings are replaced with yellow, or the forewing is red with a black border or the wings are completely black. Easily disturbed by day and flies in sunshine. Also flies after dark.

Poplar Hawk Moth This resident moth flashes reddish-brown patches on underwings if disturbed. The wings can sometimes have a pinkish/purplish tinge. Adult does not feed, instead they rely on fat reserves put down as caterpillars. 

Female comes to light before midnight, the male after midnight, in greater numbers. Rests with abdomen curved up and hindwings further forward than the forewings. Larvae can be found between June to early October. 

Meadow brown (Maniola jurtina) - Widespread and common throughout Britain and Ireland. The Gatekeeper is generally smaller and more orange with a row of tiny white dots on the hind underwings. The Meadow Brown is the most abundant butterfly species in many habitats. Hundreds may be seen together at some sites, flying low over the vegetation. Adults fly even in dull weather when most other butterflies are inactive.

Regional variations in the spotting pattern on the wings have led to it being studied extensively by geneticists over many years. Larger forms occur in Ireland and the north of Scotland. It is one of our most widespread species, but many colonies have been lost due to agricultural intensification.

Six-spot Burnet (Zygaena filipendulae) - The only British burnet moth with six red spots on each forewing, although care must be taken with identification, as in some cases the outermost spots can be fused. Rarely the red colour is replaced by yellow. Flies with a usually slow buzzing flight during sunshine and is attracted to a range of flowers including thistles, knapweeds and scabious.

Grayling (Hipparchia semele) This butterfly, the largest of our 'browns', is a master of disguise - although fairly conspicuous when in flight, it can mysteriously disappear as soon as it lands, perfectly camouflaged against a background of bare earth and stones, always resting with its wings closed. When it first lands, and when disturbed, the butterfly will raise its forewings for a second or so, revealing dark eye spots that stand out against a beautiful spectrum of browns. This butterfly also has a curious technique for regulating body temperature by leaning its wings at different angles to the sun. 

Peacock - The Peacock's spectacular pattern of eyespots, evolved to startle or confuse predators, make it one of the most easily recognized and best known species. It is from these wing markings that the butterfly gained its common name. Undersides of the wings are very dark and look like dead leaves. A fairly large butterfly and a strong flyer.

Although a familiar visitor to garden buddleias in late summer, the Peacock's strong flight and nomadic instincts lead it to range widely through the countryside, often finding its preferred habitats in the shelter of woodland clearings, rides, and edges.

The species is widespread and has continued to expand its range in northern parts of Britain and Ireland.

White Admiral - really pleased to find this one. It has white-banded black wings and a distinctive delicate flight, which has short periods of wing beats followed by long glides. 

Adults are often found nectaring on Bamble flowers in rides and clearings. It is a fairly shade-tolerant butterfly, flying in dappled sunlight to lay eggs on Honeysuckle. The White Admiral occurs widely in southern Britain and has spread rapidly since the 1920s, after an earlier contraction. However, population monitoring has shown a dramatic decline in the last 20 years, for reasons that are as yet unclear.

Canary Shoulder Thorne. Aptly named after the canary-yellow thorax, or 'shoulders', this is a fairly common species all over Britain. It has a single generation which flies from July to October, and is regularly attracted to artificial light. It frequents woodland, gardens and a range of other habitats, and the larvae feed on a variety of deciduous trees. 

Nut-tree Tussock (Colocasia coryli) Fairly common in Southern Britain; more local further North, frequenting mainly woodland. The larvae feed on a variety of deciduous trees, e.g. Hazel, Birch and Hornbeam. The adult is on the wing from April to June and July to September in the south (double brooded); May to June in the north. 

Clouded Border. A delicate little moth, which can be disturbed from undergrowth during the day, but whose natural flight time is at night. The black and white markings show considerable variation in the wild. It is fairly commonly distributed over most of Britain, occupying woodland and moist localities, and flies between May and July. 

Just a few of the butterflies and moths seen during the year, and probably the best photographed.

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