Roman snail

It rained today - a lot!!
So I spent a good deal of the morning first in bed, and then uploading to Flickr (I am still 5 days behind). 
Later on it dried up a bit, so I took Rosie to Box Hill to see the Roman snails, and sneek in a quick few extra shots of the beautiful Man orchids. 
Rosie was so delighted with the snails, (as you can see!)  and couldn't believe how large they are! 
The Roman snail Helix pomatia, likes lime rich, chalk downland soils, and is rare. It is Britain's largest snail with a very rounded shell up to 5cm across, which is often whitish with darker bands. They are really interesting, and can live up to 10 years...about the same age as Rosie! 
Although they are also called edible snails, the common garden snail is just as edible, and the Roman snail is protected by law.
We very carefully replaced them deep in the grass where we had found them. 
I have added an extra of one next to a white lipped banded snail to give you some idea of their size.