One very hot sunny Saturday morning in July we went on a guided walk at the old USA airbase at Greenham common. We are members of the Berks Bucks and Oxon Wildlife trust and it holds loads of walks and events throughout the year. There were only 4 of us on the walk well 5 if you count the Ranger. We learned a lot about the history of the common before it was an airbase and right up to today. How it is hoped to expand and create even better habitat for wildlife. Some of the airbase has been preserved - the silo's where the cruise missiles were kept. You can see them but cannot visit them yet. The runway here was the longest in Europe and it must have been massive. I am glad that it is back to common land with cattle & ponies grazing on it.
We were out for 3 hours, were introduced to a variety of plant life, butterflies, day flying moths and the highlight a Dartford Warbler. No camera so no photo sorry. Its a shame as it would have been a great picture sitting on top of the gorse singing away. We also had great views of a Stonechat. We were taught how to recognise damsel and dragon flies, four spotted chasers, emperors, large reds and common blues. We saw Grizzled skippers, Marbled Whites a Cinnabar moth, Six Spotted Burnets, Ringlets, Red Admiral and Small Skippers. In the pond we spotted newts (not crested although there are some there.
Other birds were Linnet, Skylark, Woodlark, Red legged partridge and a buzzard circling overhead.
As I said this was a 3 hour walk and all for free, not a bad way to spend a Saturday morning.
We were so close it would have been a shame not to visit the Pot Kiln so we popped in for Venison Burgers and a beer - another perfect day.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAF_Greenham_Common
http://www.bbowt.org.uk/
http://www.potkiln.org/
Wednesday, 28 July 2010
Catching up
Time is passing me by. It is already the end of July and I have not even finished the June holiday yet so I am going to cut this short, I may catch up with it later but don't hold your breath!!
Have I mentioned Southwold, a great place? Really nice town with good places to eat and a lovely pier with the most spectacular clock. There are rows of colourful beach huts all specially named by their owners. £50k to spare? One of them could be yours. Adnams brewery is here and the town is actually owned by Adnams (there are a lot of pubs). Nice walks along the prom in the evening and a sandy beach during the day if the weather is kind.
One hot & sunny afternoon we went for a walk in Tunstall Forest, we walked a long way following our noses and as usual or sense of direction let us down. I only felt slightly panicked once, thank goodness we had the sense to follow the sun as we remembered where it was in the sky when we started off. We had only seen one other person the whole time that we were walking and that had been at the very start of the walk. We did quite literally stumble upon a fawn hiding in the bracken. It was very young and beautifully spotted, Like dappled sunlight falling across its back. Great camouflage while it waits, well hidden, for its mother to come back & feed it.
We visited Thorpeness where there is a Windmill and the famous "House in the Clouds". At the lakeside you can hire boats all brightly coloured and have names like Hawk, Curlew and Wasp.
A couple of evenings were spent at our Local pub the Chequers a bit quirky but good beer & Aspalls cider. One sunny evening we sat and watched a spotted flycatcher doing what it does best. The landlord said there had been Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers nesting & feeding young earlier in the month but there was no sign of them when we were there. he used to get otters in the garden as it reaches right down to the banks of the river. He has not seen the otters for 2 years or so. I was very disappointed at this news. The pub was only a four minute walk from Tarka cottage and a great stop off point after a walk in the surrounding countryside.
On our last evening we walked to the next village to have dinner in a really nice pub The Queens head in Brandeston. As I said we walked there about a mile and a half on a very sunny warm evening. The perfect end to a fabulous holiday.
Have I mentioned Southwold, a great place? Really nice town with good places to eat and a lovely pier with the most spectacular clock. There are rows of colourful beach huts all specially named by their owners. £50k to spare? One of them could be yours. Adnams brewery is here and the town is actually owned by Adnams (there are a lot of pubs). Nice walks along the prom in the evening and a sandy beach during the day if the weather is kind.
One hot & sunny afternoon we went for a walk in Tunstall Forest, we walked a long way following our noses and as usual or sense of direction let us down. I only felt slightly panicked once, thank goodness we had the sense to follow the sun as we remembered where it was in the sky when we started off. We had only seen one other person the whole time that we were walking and that had been at the very start of the walk. We did quite literally stumble upon a fawn hiding in the bracken. It was very young and beautifully spotted, Like dappled sunlight falling across its back. Great camouflage while it waits, well hidden, for its mother to come back & feed it.
We visited Thorpeness where there is a Windmill and the famous "House in the Clouds". At the lakeside you can hire boats all brightly coloured and have names like Hawk, Curlew and Wasp.
A couple of evenings were spent at our Local pub the Chequers a bit quirky but good beer & Aspalls cider. One sunny evening we sat and watched a spotted flycatcher doing what it does best. The landlord said there had been Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers nesting & feeding young earlier in the month but there was no sign of them when we were there. he used to get otters in the garden as it reaches right down to the banks of the river. He has not seen the otters for 2 years or so. I was very disappointed at this news. The pub was only a four minute walk from Tarka cottage and a great stop off point after a walk in the surrounding countryside.
On our last evening we walked to the next village to have dinner in a really nice pub The Queens head in Brandeston. As I said we walked there about a mile and a half on a very sunny warm evening. The perfect end to a fabulous holiday.
Aldeburgh
One of the things that you must do in Aldeburgh is to join the queue at the fish & chip shop at the top of the main street, purchase some of the freshest fish & chips you will ever taste. Wander down to the pebble beach and eat them whilst taking in the view of the sea. Especially good when the sun is shining & the wind is warm. It is against the law to feed the gulls here which makes the experience even better, as although they watch you with their beady eyes they do not bother the many people enjoying their lunch or supper.
Right down the other end of the town by the Moot hall, are the fish sheds. We bought Dover Sole straight off the boat so fresh they were still flapping. We also got the best Sea Bass I have ever eaten. Luckily we had some cool bags so were able to stop off on the way home and stock up for the freezer. There are great pubs here and you can walk along the beach for miles.
Right down the other end of the town by the Moot hall, are the fish sheds. We bought Dover Sole straight off the boat so fresh they were still flapping. We also got the best Sea Bass I have ever eaten. Luckily we had some cool bags so were able to stop off on the way home and stock up for the freezer. There are great pubs here and you can walk along the beach for miles.
Tuesday, 6 July 2010
RSPB Minsmere
A birdwatchers heaven and only 24 miles from Tarka cottage. On the main drive into Minsmere I had to stop the car to let a family of 7 squirrels cross the road. This took several minutes as they kept chasing each other back & forth. It was OK we were not in a hurry. There are lots of hides to watch the birds from and a variety of habitats to attract different species. We were hoping to see a Bittern or would have settled to hear it's booming call but it was no to be. We saw some Marsh Harriers, a Sedge Warbler singing on top of the reed bed not 4ft from us and lots of Reed Buntings, Avocets, Ringed Plovers, Common terns. We also saw some rather tatty Ruffs but the highlight was a Hobby hunting Dragonflies over the reed bed by by the Bittern hide.
We were also lucky enough to see a female Red deer swim across one of the dyke's closely followed by a fawn. Earlier, just a we came out onto the reserve w saw a Muntjac deer.
Along one of the nature trails we found spotted Orchids and a Pyramid Orchid.
A really great day! Finished it off by driving to Southwold for a great meal in the Crown.
In Suffolk if the pub is not called the Crown then its likely to be called the White Horse!
We were also lucky enough to see a female Red deer swim across one of the dyke's closely followed by a fawn. Earlier, just a we came out onto the reserve w saw a Muntjac deer.
Along one of the nature trails we found spotted Orchids and a Pyramid Orchid.
A really great day! Finished it off by driving to Southwold for a great meal in the Crown.
In Suffolk if the pub is not called the Crown then its likely to be called the White Horse!
Woodbridge
A very sunny morning took us to Woodbridge a country town on the River Deben. It has some lovely architecture, a tide mill, theatre, quayside, almshouses and windmills.You can do a town walk which takes in most of the best bits. We walked around the town had a nosy in some of the shops. We found an amazing place that restored violins there were racks & racks of them hanging from the ceilings and adorning the walls, all different woods and colours some very old & some new, fantastic.
We headed down to the quay to the tide mill and had a coffee & the most delicious orange drizzle cake in the Riverside Restaurant.
We headed down to the quay to the tide mill and had a coffee & the most delicious orange drizzle cake in the Riverside Restaurant.
Sunday, 4 July 2010
Saturday, 3 July 2010
Orford
This is another very beautiful place. We visited twice. The first morning it was cold & blowy but people were still catching bucketfulls of crabs on from the quayside. We walked along the quay and then took a path towards the castle up through the town where we found the smokehouse. They smoke just about everything here. We bought fish, cheese and a ham hock which had been soaked in cider & honey then smoked, yummy. There are some lovely pubs here and all the food looks very good but although we sampled the beers & ciders we did not eat in Orford this trip!
You can catch a ferry accros to the spit where there is a wildlife reserve and it is also famous as a world war 2 testing site for bombs!
Just walking around the village takes quite a while as it is full of pretty cottages, there is the castle to explore a lovely church and of course the many pubs.
In the car park we happened across some sweet Wren fledlings just hoping about in one of the bushes and a Whitethroat was singing on top of a tree.
You can catch a ferry accros to the spit where there is a wildlife reserve and it is also famous as a world war 2 testing site for bombs!
Just walking around the village takes quite a while as it is full of pretty cottages, there is the castle to explore a lovely church and of course the many pubs.
In the car park we happened across some sweet Wren fledlings just hoping about in one of the bushes and a Whitethroat was singing on top of a tree.
Framlingham
Framlingham is a lovely quiet small town but with a loy of hidden treasures. One sunny evening we did the town walk and discovered this little town has a lot to offer. We finished up in the Crown hotel where we had a really good fish & chip supper and Adnams of course!
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