Visit to Gowk Bank

I worked all morning to remove all the small items and the pictures from the walls of my lounge, ready for Lesley to decorate tomorrow. 

The dining room is again stuffed to the gunnels with "stuff" and the kitchen looks very chaotic. We will get there.  (If I keep repeating it, I might believe it!)

This afternoon I drove to Gowk Bank. This is a Natural England nature reserve near to the Spadeadam RAF base. It is quite a secret place. I don't think they want too many people visiting. The first time I went was with a botany group. We looked hilarious as we all walked slowly, taking enormous steps to avoid treading on an orchid. (John Cleese eat your heart out!!)

Today I was alone. It was very windy which made photography tricky but the light was good. When the wind drops, the midges eat humans alive, so a bit of breeze is quite good.

I was entranced. There are a lot of buttercups out, but there are orchids everywhere. There are common spotted and marsh orchids with hybrids of the two. (I'm not clever enough to identify these, but I've been told about them.) The fragrant orchids are coming into flower now. I was, of course, too late for the small white. It's very rare and flowers in May or early June.

The eyebright (see extra) is particularly large and flowering in profusion. My blip is the melancholy thistle - just coming into full flower.

I sat amongst the pignut and looked across the valley. Shame I was sneezing from the pollen, but I was truly in seventh heaven.

Did I mention the forget-me-nots, clover, yellow rattle, germander speedwell, ragged robin? The grasses are stunning and my favourite, the quaking grass was there too.

Time for an antihistamine perhaps?!