“Isn’t it a lovely day to get caught in the rain?”
Despite my soggy trousers and damp socks, it really is! Fog and rain has transformed the meadows into a glittering, soft-edged impressionist painting, with the hedges fading into the mist in a palette of greens, while the fields are dappled with pink, yellow and purple.
Cocksfoot, Tall Brome, Meadow Oat Grass and Quaking Grass gleams like silver, strewn with diamond raindrops, as Great Tits, Linnets, Whitethroats and Chiffchaffs send new showers of water tumbling down as they land on the wet branches of flowering Hawthorn and Elder. At the foot of the hedgerows, the dark lilac flowers of Stinking Iris are accompanied by the white umbels of Hogweed, and the pink-tinged flowers of Wild Carrot, surrounded by a filigree of fine green sepals.
Overhead, Skylarks pour their ‘careless rapture’ into the sky, invisible in the mist, while below them the meadows are carpeted with a colourful tapestry of flowers. Common Spotted Orchids in their thousands range in colour from white to dark pink, with the buds of Pyramidal Orchid just starting to unfurl. Here and there, Bee Orchids nestle among the grasses, while below them, Yellow Rattle, Common Vetch, Red Clover, Eyebright and Field Bindweed form a dense jungle.
The jewel-like pink flowers of Grass Vetchling are scattered among the grass, along with the weird pink and brown flowers of the semi-parasitic Common Broomrape.
Ox-eye Daisies, Pale Flax, Meadow Buttercup and Corky-fruited Water Dropwort sway in the breeze, which slowly breaks the mist into ever finer tendrils.
A little clearer along the cliffs, with Kittiwake and a Gannet passing by, while the growling of Guillemots rises up to clifftop (along with the distinctive fishy smell of the colony!). More Guillemots and Razorbills bob on the water, along with a Shag, as Fulmars wheel above them and a Great Black-backed Gull flaps ponderously by.