The Park is veiled in mist this morning, with the wind-pruned silhouettes of Hawthorn and Blackthorn like bent figures appearing out of the fog as I walk along the top of the downs.
All around me, the furry flowers of thousands of Early Spider Orchids are covered in raindrops, making them sparkle even in the low light. Patches of bright pink Early Purple Orchid and bluer Green-winged Orchid brighten a rather grey morning.
Sprinkled across the turf around them are the dark blue flowers of Common Milkwort, with a few of the tiny, curiously shaped Adderstongue Fern nestled among the short grass. At the foot of a nearby scrub patch, Jack-in-the-Pulpit (or Cuckoo Pint) is in flower, looking a little like a giant version of the Adderstongue. Tiny Glaucous Sedge is topped with fluffy yellow flowers, while the leaves of Tor Grass are tinged with red.
The meadows are becoming more colourful by the day, with seas of pale yellow Cowslips, tall golden Bulbous Buttercups, the slender stems and delicate blue flowers of Pale Flax, with the flowers of Cocksfoot and Meadow Oat Grass also starting to appear.
The woodland is a feast for the eyes at the moment, with every shade of green imaginable covering the woodland floor, with dense ‘forests’ of Ramsons and Three-cornered Leek, tangled mounds of Cleavers, white-flowered Jack-by-the-Hedge (or Garlic Mustard), Cow Parsley, Stinking Iris, and Hartstongue Fern to name just a few.
Along the cliffs, Guillemots and Razorbills hurry in and out of the mist as they leave the ledges in search of food, with Fulmars floating ghostly through the fog. Great Black-backed Gulls, Herring Gulls and Shags are also on the wing, with a Raven croaking as she flaps in off the cliffs to pass above the Castle.
Once again, the musk of a dog Fox fills the air near the Large Copse, where Badgers have been rooting through the woodchip path in search of breakfast.