Plane White

We arrived back from holiday on Monday evening to a glorious sunset along the M50. Since the weather has been lovely here, and it was no different today.

We decided on a walk from Penallt, near Monmouth, in The Wye Valley as we haven't done it for a while. Like yesterday, we had shorts, t-shirt and sandals for this good five mile walk, a section of it along The River Wye.

After leaving the Wye it was a slog uphill for nearly a mile into the village of Penallt where there is a pub (The Inn at Penallt). Normally lunchtime it is closed but it's just been bought by a retired Police Officer from the Mets, so while the wife had a pot of tea on the patio, I partook of a chilled half pint of cider. Lovely.

From here was about a mile and a half back to the car parked outside The medieval church at Penallt. Foxgloves were in abundance everywhere. On passing a house on the main lane I saw these white Foxgloves. They can vary in colour from the normal purple but the white are not too common. (see extra photo)

The name foxglove is a very ancient one and exists in a list of plants as old as the time of Edward III. In Wales it is declared to be a favourite lurking-place of the fairies, who are said to occasion a snapping sound when children, holding one end of the digitalis bell, suddenly strike the other on the hand to hear the clap of fairy thunder, with which the indignant fairy makes her escape from her injured retreat! Foxgloves (known as Digitalis) are toxic and can cause death by increasing or decreasing the heart beat - yet is sometimes used to treat heart problems in humans!

About a mile from the car I saw this plane fly overhead. I just loved the white plane and four white smoke trails against the blue sky. A simple but lovely photo. It just pips the white foxgloves!