Wiltshire Walks...

A bit too late for Lockdown my wife purchased a GPS Wiltshire Walk App. The intention was to try to complete a couple a week over the summer holidays which would allow us to get plenty of exercise, visit hither to unseen parts of the county and hopefully forget that we weren’t going to be able to take our holiday abroad. I planned to take my camera, as always, but I had no real expectations I was just looking forward to seeing what would turn up…

Ashurst    26-08-2020

This wasn’t exactly a Wiltshire walk…in fact not even remotely as Ashurst is deep into Hampshire but it was still a walk from an app…
Having parked in the railway car park we crossed over the tracks and very quickly the dirty grey industrial look was replaced with verdant lawns and towering Oaks nicely spaced out and filtering the late summer sun pleasantly. The path took us round past a lovely looking cottage and onto a wide woodland ride with Beech and Oak making up most of the woodland. The walk was easy going so I was able to keep my eyes peeled for butterflies fluttering along the verges when the sun came out. They were mainly Hedgies but we did pause to check the app at a crossroads and a female Holly Blue was bimbling about low down.

Onwards we went with a few Dragonflies darting about overhead on the next stretch but the butterflies were few and far between – possibly because the broad leafed trees had been replaced with fir trees and the sun was having a hard job reaching down to the ground here? We felt the need for lunch and so at the opportunity we left the main track and made out way along a wide strip of cleared trees. As it was more open here the sun warmed my back and first a Green-veined White appeared closely followed by a Hedgie just as I’d sat down for a snack. I’m sure butterflies can sense when I’m about to eat!

After our repast we dove on down through the wood and it reverted to the typical New Forest style of lawn and established Broad-leaved trees. Almost as if on cue a couple of Specklies entertained me for a few moments and a Greater Spotted Woody called and flew overhead. At certain times in their flight they look as if they’re about to fall out of the sky, then there’s a rapid blur of their wings, they gain height and the start the rapid descent again - I love watching them.

The trees gave way to closely nibbled grass and heather with broad swathes of land taking on a purplish brown colour. As I stepped from wood to heath I could feel the warmth rising up through my boots as it was emitted by the hummus darkened yet thin soil. I was hoping for a late Grayling but instead had to settle for a battered looking Large White. This proved to be the final butterfly of the walk and although I did spy a copulating pair of Dragonflies – male on top, female beneath periodically lowering her abdomen in the small stream – I was more occupied with keeping to the edges of the woodland so as to avoid the cattle/steers. Even though we’d been gone for a fair few hours to me it felt like all too soon we were treading on tarmac back in the industrial grey of the car park.

Lawns and mighty Oaks
A Hedgie drops in for lunch
Grayling imposter!

Amesbury    18-08-2020

I should have been at Shipton Bellinger but just recently I’ve found myself starting to trust the BBC weather report – don’t ask me why. Anyway this meant that I was around so we went on one of the shortest Wiltshire Walk walks – starting and finishing on the south side of Amesbury.

We started off crossing the river and then working along one side of it heading upstream. On the way the clouds kept playing hide and seek with the sun and with it the butterflies would slip in and out of view. The path quickly became what looked like Brostreak heaven hedged in on either side by Hawthorn and Blackthorn with the occasional Bramble and patch of soft thistles. However the only butterflies flying were whites and Specklies, the latter being the most numerous by far and in fact they probably accounted for 90% of the butterflies seen. While we stopped for lunch we were joined by a lovely dark individual and around the corner in the field from where we were eating a Meadow Brown (one of only a few) was weakly basking. 

Apart from this the only other butterfly was a Small Heath again at the junction of the track when it branched up and round onto Downland grassland. This bit of the walk also looked really good but alas it was a bit too late in the year and I couldn’t spend any time meandering about looking for more butterflies. The final stage of the walk saw yet more Specklies flying along the path and the odd White that broke up this monotony. Don’t know if I’d do this one again – unless maybe around late July – I reckon there could be some Brostreaks in there somewhere… 

Took a Brostreak chance
Surely find one in Amesbury?
Only Specklies though…

Fritham    05-08-2020

I was quite surprised to see this one included in the Wiltshire Walks as it’s on the outskirts of the New Forest and also as it’s nowhere near Fritham. As we pulled into the car park at Telegraph Hill In fact I worked out that I’d been on this walk before, many years ago when I was a birder looking (successfully) for Wood Warbler and Redstart. As we walked down the hill and through mainly Oak woodland all was quiet and there was only the slightest breeze that had somehow snaked its way through the vastness of trees to reach us on the broad Bracken lined track. I reckon if I’d been here a few weeks previously Purple Hairstreaks would have been a dead cert but today as we carried on walking only the odd Hedgie flew.

By the time we’d stopped for lunch the sun had started to shine and the wildlife sightings had picked up with a few more Hedgies and Specklies to be expected, a Spotted Flycatcher was nice, we’d seen a couple of Fawns, heard Cicadas/crickets and as we set out the rugs a Toadlet crawled by, a caterpillar seemed to be settling in for the afternoon on a nettle (Comma?) and a green damselfly stopped and was gone before I could get a shot. After lunch as we packed up we were joined by a little Froglet as well and then in a little cleared patch while the sun shone a Silver-washed and Peacock bombed away into the wood, a Brimstone let me get a couple of shots before a Meadow Brown spooked it and a couple of Holly Blues drifted down like falling blossom unfortunately landing in the middle of the huge clump of Bramble.

Onwards we went into the wood and there were more Specklies and Hedgies, more calling birds and the odd dragonfly quartering. The wood changed from mainly Broad-leafed to Coniferous with Bracken covering the floor absorbing all of the little light which filtered through the canopy. There was still a thin veneer of Oak and Birch lining the track which meant that the walk didn’t feel as claustrophobic as it should have and it also meant that the butterflies were restricted to the margins of the track but that was okay as they were mainly Specklies or else Hedgies. It was only as we left the wood for the final tiny stretch back to the car that found something different – a Holly Blue feeding up on a Bramble blossom which had entwined itself with the central core of some Gorse.

After we finally managed to persuade the Donkeys in the car park that we needed to get home we set off…Again done this one a bit too late in the season? Mid May when the Wood Warblers, Redstarts and Willow Warblers are singing would be good and mid July for Purple Hairstreaks maybe?
 
Another Toadlet
Left it too late I wondered?
Though nice Comma cat…

Farley (Hound Wood)    02-08-2020

This was a short walk – apparently! We started off in Farley and I recognised the church and the old hospital as I’d visited here once before to explore Hound Wood for Pearls and Marshies. And so we set off through the village and then turning left up the track with tall hedges on both sides hemming us in. There were Small Whites and Gatekeepers all over the place, the occasional Meadow Brown and at one point a Smessex Skipper went up from the path flying so much like a moth that at first that’s what I thought it was. Once in the Wood we followed the track way up and took the left hand fork where the path was very overgrown. There were a few Specklies here and a Large White looking lost as if fed in the only ‘open’ bit of the wood. This quickly opened out into a small plantation of Christmas trees and as well as Meadow Browns a single Marbled White joined the day list.

The path narrowed considerably as we left the wood again becoming hemmed in on both sides by tall shrubs and short trees and so apart from the occasional Specklie nothing else flew in this claustrophobic environ. It opened out again and suddenly there were butterflies – Gatekeepers, a Holly Blue and a smattering of whites. At a crossroads between the adjacent fields I had a little purple patch with several whites, Meadow Browns, Gatekeepers and 3 male Common Blue buzzing about all over the place.

We then crossed over the road and walked through various paddocks before stopping for lunch at a memorial bench overlooking the vale. Lunch eaten onwards we went, down the steps and eventually into Pitton. A few Peacocks and a Brimstone were on one of the local’s Buddleia but after this things went really quiet as we took a steep path out of the village. When it did open out again there were butterflies, well whites actually, everywhere but unfortunately all beyond the reach of my lens in the fields and I was kept at bay by the barbed wire fencing. On down through the wood and across three adjoining fields and we were back in the village of Farley and soon heading for home.

But as short as they reckon this one but during early spring could be a good one for trying to nab a Pearl… 
  
Too few butterflies
But some potential for spring
A short walk, honest

Great Ridge    29-07-2020

Another day and another Wiltshire Walking App walk! Today we ventured even further afield to Great Ridge Wood and Sherrington. I’d been here once before I realised as we pulled up at the car park but rather than carrying on up the hill on foot we walked back the way we’d driven and then turned off left. The gently sloping hill was bordered on both sides by chalk banks and at the start there was a large ‘bowl’ carved into the side of the hill. Straight away I saw a Chalkhill and then after a single shot a Common Blue buzzed it and off both went. I didn’t mind though as the Chalkhill was swiftly replaced by a Small Blue. I got called back to walking and it was a case of onwards and upwards with Meadow Browns, Gatekeepers and the odd Marbled White and Smessex flying across from one bank top to the other and a Brimstone was the only one of the numerous whites to stop or at least stop in a position to enable me to get anything shot wise of it.

As we carried on climbing the path became enclosed by woodland on one side and dairy pasture on the other and the dominant butterfly here was the Meadow Brown appropriately enough. The wood stopped and then we were walking along the edge of a Wheat field. The Knapweed and Thistles were alive with Smessex Skippers and Gatekeepers and a Dusky Sallow fed among them. As we reached the end of the field a really swarthy Small Tort landed a few times on various nectar sources and down on the path and then we’d reached the summit and it was time for lunch during which we were joined by a huge Edible Snail and a Red Admiral.

We still had roughly two thirds of the trip walk remaining and so we put our heads down and made good time possibly due to the lunch time refuelling but maybe because it was now downhill. As we descended along the side of the Down we were joined y various Whites, a few Small Torts and Red Admirals, numerous Gatekeepers although not a single one sat still long enough for a photo. In the distance we could make out a hill carving on the opposite Down.

After a quick walk around Sherrington we set off on the final third of the walk and now the path was slightly more overgrown and the going was a bit harder. It did mean however that there were a few more butterflies; Specklies and Holly Blues joined the daily tally and all those that we had already seen were present or resent in higher numbers. The main highlight for me was surprisingly a Meadow Brown. In one of the more open stretches of the path as we neared the dairy (I love that sweet and acrid smell) I watched a small, dark brown butterfly as it fluttered along the path. At first I thought that it was a Gatekeeper but it was a bit small and too dark. Then it landed and I could see that it was actually a Meadow Brown – the smallest that I’ve ever encountered – ab.minima?

Not a bad walk this one although to be honest I could have just hung around the chalk grassland at the start…WINK.  
Great Ridge great big walk
Odd that the smalls were the stars
The best? Meadow Brown

Grovely Woods 26-07-2020

Not really the walk featured on the Wiltshire Walks App but still one on the list. We started in the same place as usual and strode up the hill and round to the left to reach the Roman Road. However instead of turning left and following it on down past the Witchy Trees we turned right and walked for a short way before turning left and following the track deep into the woods. In a few of the cleared areas the Specklies were replaced by Ringlets, Meadow Browns and Gatekeepers and the odd Silver-washed occasionally dropped in dwarfing all the other species and sprinkling a little of the ‘wow’ factor as they went.

We had a little ruttle around in the abandoned and tumble down school house and stopped for lunch by the wood workers ‘yard’ before heading back by the same route seeing pretty much the same species. As we reached the main drove back to the car the heavens opened for a short, sharp, shock of a shower during which we were forced (with not a coat between us) to shelter under an accommodating Oak. Shower over it was back to walking and that’s when I witnessed the most memorable part of the walk. I spied a Ringlet with its wings held wide open seemingly feeding on the underside of a flower. It looked very odd, almost as if the butterfly was hanging by it legs and thrusting its head deep into the underside of the mass of florets, twitching and vibrating its head to get every last drop. At least this was what I thought but as I watched the reason for the unusual positioning became clear as white pointed legs clawed around the top of one of the wings. It was the final death throes as the butterfly succumbed to the spiders toxins. The twitching was the last steps of the death dance.    

A hidden danger
Head first in florets twitching
Macabre death dance

Wardour Castles 24-07-2020

This was our second walk and promised to be an interesting one as we started at Old Wardour Castle. I’d visited here one summer many years ago when I was helping out my Grandad Polly and Uncle Jimmy with their landscaping. It was also used in Robin Hood Prince of Thieves as Loxley Castle but as it’s owned by English Heritage we wouldn’t be paying to visit it, instead just viewing from the outside.

The start of the walk took us round the edge and up the hill skirting some woodland and then across and up various fields, along the side of a small lake and then back into some verdant woodland. On the first part we were accompanied by Gatekeepers and Meadow Browns that would take off from the hedges and there were also several Toadlets toiling away at crossing the dusty track.

We paused for lunch once we’d almost completed the woodland stretch and a few Specklies led me on a bit of a dance as they fluttered around while I munched my sandwich and tried to follow them at the same time. Then we left the confines of the woodland and walked across a pasture field escorted by the Cows themselves. After crossing a few more fields and walking up another hill during which the sun had been hidden and there were a few drops of rain in the air things started to brighten up as we strolled through the grounds of New Wardour Castle. On the front lawn, which had been left to grow wild and looked more like a wildflower Meadow, a Common Blue and Marbled White flew beyond the reach of my lens and safe in the knowledge that there were ‘keep off the grass signs’ along the borders. And on the final stretch a Red Admiral popped up along with a few Gatekeepers. Nothing really impressive but a fantastic walk none the less.

Old Wardour Castle
On a day threatening rain
So not much to see…

Downton River Walk 22-07-2020

This was the first walk and so with some trepidation we set off having left the car in the Moot car park. The first section seemed to go around the Moot and down towards the river and from there along the river side and away across the Meadows. The Moot itself, a large grassed amphitheatre with a large pond separating the terraced seating from the stage was quite pleasant as there were lovely little nooks and crannies to explore and which held different vegetation. Peacocks, Specklies, a Red Admiral by the river and a Holly Blue or three all made it onto the day list if not the memory card. Then the reason for our trepidation transpired. The map took us to one corner of the Moot but where there should have been the start of a short section of riverside path there was a high brick wall abutting the river. After a few attempts at walking about to see if the map corrected itself we walked back through the Moot and through the town until we got back onto the yellow track.
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Once back on track we walked past expensive looking houses, down farmyard tracks, across cow filled fields and down through a tiny Hamlet. There were Gatekeepers now and again in the hedge, the odd white flew along the hedge and I counted three Peacocks but all was quite quiet. In the tiny Hamlet things stated to pick up with a couple of Brimstones and then we reached the main selling point of the walk – the Mill. The river had been diverted into three different sections and first we crossed the deep channelled section which used to feed the Mill itself by walking along the top of the weir. The path carried on and we crossed the overflow section with its long but low waterfalls. The reeds and brambles grew above head height here but were alive with butterflies – all seeking out the Buddleia which was growing up through various sections of the reeds. There were so many Peacocks it was difficult to count them, at least three Red Admirals and numerous whites of various denominations including a Green-veined White that behaved for once. After crossing the final section, the river proper, where a Comma and Emperor Dragonfly both evaded my lens we strode across the meadows and found a shady spot for our lunch stop off while Whites and a Common Blue fluttered about.

The homeward stretch was pretty quiet despite the whites flying about with the only noticeable and identifiable butterflies being a Large White in one of the fields, a Red Admiral looking to lay and a Specklie on sentry duty as we left the final section of wood before crossing the broiling meadows and heading home. Still not too bad for the first walk out.

We visited the river at Downton several times through the heatwave – not for wildlife watching but for river swimming. Because of this I didn’t take my camera but I still kept my eyes open on these subsequent visits. There were whites and dragonflies but the real highlight for me was when we arrived early one morning so as to get the ‘good spot’ on the banks, the sun had yet to finish its breakfast mist and making headway against the current was a female Goosander – that was when I wished that my camera had been in my daypack!

A riverside walk
Bit of an experiment
Better for a swim?