Ridgeway walking back to Avesbury

After another foggy start the day turned to
a glorious blue, and I was out to walk a little further along
the Ridgeway path. From the downs above Devizes I had
walked (unblogged on) along the ridge as far as two radio
masts on Morgan's Hill. For todays expedition I aimed to walk
from that point onwards to Avebury.

On this walk I feel am well and truly back to native soil...
chalkland, with its white fields

...gorse blooms, sky larks

and white horses.
http://wiltshirewhitehorses.org.uk/cherhill.html



Following a Roman road from Morgan's Hill with

sporadic clusters of trees amid otherwise decidedly

spartan fields I reached the monument on Cherhill

Down for a lunch break.

Views around about of the crinkled hills

and dry valleys were echoed (unintentionally)

by the ditches and ramparts of Oldbury

"castle" (hill fort)

Lunch over I continued onwards and (through some

bad map-reading) became quite disorientated as the Morgan's

Hill masts came back in sight. Once Iworked out what had happened

I made my way onwards to Avesbury. After 12 miles I was in need

of refreshment.....and an escaped route back to the car.

Firstly I tucked into a welcome meal at the Red Lion pub

before taking time to enjoy taking a few photos

of the standing stones now bathed in an early

evening sunlight.

By 6pm I was awaiting my saviour....the Wigglybus,

which took me back to Cherhill where I walked the

last half mile or so of the day on a sometimes

VERY muddy bridlepath, passing nervous deer

(muntjac)....

Another walk, another day,over.

Searching for another Otter moment...!

Another early exit from home on a frosty, foggy
morning down onto the Somerset Levels as the
sun rose.....



I went again to Shapwick Heath, searching once more
for a meeting with an otter or two. Maybe this
time I could get a photo ?? Or maybe not.....
the uncertainty is half the fun!



Finding dew tipped daffodils and spiders webs
is a more certain small pleasure for this time of year....

I returned to the location of my first otter encounter.

I was hopeful but not overly confident that I would

come up trumps here again. Afteral why should they

stay in such a small area of water when they had so

much scope to roam elsewhere?

Well imagine my thrill that very soon after reaching the spot

I was almost having an action replay of the first meeting.

Two otters once again swam in towards the bank, the one further

out seems to have spotted me first and squeaked an alarm before diving

out of sight. Tho other, however (perhaps a dog otter??)

was more bold (or curious) and seeing me stopped

swimming and craned up out of the water for a better

look. For a few wonderful moments we were face

to face, then it too disappeared from view back underwater.

So why were they in this spot again?

Well it seems that the water sheltered shoals of

fish, which in the following half hour or so that

I stayed there were repeatedly disturbing the

surface, sometimes but not always being chased by otters

I believe.

So another short meeting with the otters, but

spending time at this spot helped me become familiar

with what to look for as signs of otter activity...

the signs in the trampling at the waterside, signs of a regular pathway

between two areas of water, a hole in the bankside, a little bit of

hair, and most tellingly of all, fish scales from an otter meal.

I have yet to see otter footprints, or know what

otter droppings look and smell like (I gather they are quiet

pleasant smelling!!).

After this I spent more time walking around

the reserve, always hoping for more sightings of otters

but happy to enjoy the bird life, catkins on branches

and beautifully blue sky that revealed itself

as morning mist/fog was chased away by the sun

Goat Willow..

Not sure...

Alder..

As for an otter photo. Well, maybe next time!

Lunar eclipse !!

Shock news! The moon is bleeding!!



Maybe it was that dragon I saw biting
at it a little earlier?




Ah. No, it's ok. normal service is being resumed!



Well, now I can go to sleep, and rest easy
in my bed then...

A super view of the lunar eclipse from here in
Gloucestershire. Clear skies right through the highpoint
of the show when the moon glowed bronze, then just as
the show came towards its end the cloud started to appear.
Perfect timing!