Wildflower meadow

Today was complete magic! The sun shone! The temperature was perfect! 
I met a friend for our regular walk and happened to choose Upwood Meadows - it's not far from home, I'd never been there before and the Wildlife Trust blurb promised early purple orchids. I wanted to see them. 

The first sight of this group of meadows is a mass of buttercups growing in bright green grasses of various types and then, when we got into the main area (another great example of medieval ridge and furrow farming), we were completely captivated by a sea of beautiful wild orchids, along with buttercups, speedwell, vetch, clovers, a wonderful riot of spring colour. There were thousands of orchids, mostly on one slope of the ridge, so presumably they get more sun there, perhaps more rain too with good drainage. I couldn't capture the majesty of the meadow but the extras give some idea, I hope.