I have been doing this “walk”:https://www.silvertraveladvisor.com/travel-product/attraction/203728-ridge-walk regularly over the last six months and watching the changes.
The council has cut the verges and the ‘cowslip meadow’, so there are few wild flowers to find now. The willowherb which has been flowering for two months has now set seed and its tiny parachutes can be see floating in the breeze.
There are still a few blackberries around, but most have now been eaten or have shrivelled. The elderberries have been stripped by the birds.
The rose hips have turned bright red and I found a round hair clump of Robin’s pin cushion on one plant. This is caused by a gall wasp and turns bright red in late summer.
The hawthorn are covered with haws – a sign of a hard winter? The blackthorn is covered with tiny black sloes – time to think of sloe gin?
Talking of winter, a few bushes of holly are now sporting bright red berries too. The ivy is covered with small green fruits which with gradually turn black. Nearby was a small clump of teasel.
