UK TRIPS
Posts about weekend and longer trips I've made around the UK.
We had a great first two days, driving through Suffolk on our way up to the north Norfolk coast. We enjoyed a full day at RSPB Minsmere on the Friday, then headed into Norfolk the following day, stopping first at Horsey Beach to see the Grey Seals, and then Sheringham to see the rare migrant Eastern Black Redstart ( Winter in Norfolk - Part 1 ). We had a lovely cottage in Morston overlooking the quay - a view we relished every morning as we ate our breakfast. On our first morning, we went for a stroll along the estuary at low tide and across the marsh, then looping back along the coastal path. Some Linnets were very accommodating towards the end of the walk, posing nicely on the tops of the bushes.
Winter is an excellent time to visit the north Norfolk coast, in terms of wildlife opportunities. It seemed the perfect area for my partner, Bob, and I to explore for our most recent holiday, which was for my birthday. It's a place we're both very fond of and yet we'd not been there together before, so it was lovely to return together and share some fabulous new wildlife experiences. We'd booked a lovely cottage in Morston for one week, but as usual, we made the journey there part of our adventure. We had an overnight stop in Lowestoft on our way north, which allowed us to visit RSPB Minsmere, Suffolk before heading to Norfolk. We had two great days before we'd even reached our accommodation for the week. In the weeks leading up to our trip, the weather was either wet, dull or windy, or all three! We didn't have high hopes for how many dry or sunny days we'd have for our trip, so I packed a few books, just in case! That also meant we'd packed all the necessary waterproofs and wellies, ready for anything. As it turned out, we had a really glorious week of lovely sunny, dry weather. What luck! Our previous visits to Minsmere have always been great and this was no different. We were really hoping to see some Woodcock, without spooking them and having the usual rear view as one rapidly flies away. I've only ever seen them a couple of time before, so I was eager for my first good view of one. Perhaps it was fitting, therefore, that I was the one that spotted one, at the precise moment Bob was saying, 'We probably won't find any!'
Earlier in the year, Bob and I had a wonderful holiday up in Scotland, focusing mostly on the Isle of Mull. I've written several blog posts about this trip, which you can read by clicking on this link . However, at the start and the end of our time up north, we went looking for new butterfly species for me - ones we don't see in the south of England. I'm currently in the process of trying to see all UK butterfly species. During our last few days of that holiday, we were in Cumbria searching for the Large Heath, Northern Brown Argus and the Mountain Ringlet. It was too early for the High Brown Fritillary following the cool damp spring, however, there was a chance of seeing some in early August, albeit potentially very tatty and right at the end of their flight season. We'd already started mulling over the idea of returning to Cumbria at that time of year to see another butterfly species new to me, the Scotch Argus. The opportunity to see both species was too tempting to pass by. So, we returned to Cumbria on 6th August, but this time just for two days. It was all we could fit in to our schedule.
After our wonderful holiday up in Scotland, which I've written about in my previous posts - the last of which was Other Mull Highliahts - Bob and I headed to Cumbria. It was a great way for us to break up our journey south. We were based in Kendal. We had three full days and three new butterfly species for me to find: Large Heath, Northern Brown Argus and Mountain Ringlet. None of these species can be found in the south and I'm currently on a quest to see all species of Butterfly in the UK (mainland). I knew it was going to be a challenge because once again, the weather really wasn't on our side with mostly rain, wind and overcast conditions. But, after our success in Fort William and seeing my first Chequered Skipper in less than ideal conditions, I was optimistic there was still a chance of success, albeit small. DAY 1 Our focus on the Saturday was the Large Heath butterfly. It's a species that's endangered in the UK because so much of its habitat has been destroyed. They like wet boggy land and Meathop Moss Nature Reserve is a great place to see them. It was less than 30 minutes drive from our hotel. We headed off in really dreary weather wondering how the day ahead would unfold.
There's so much to see on and around the Isle of Mull and I was so glad that Bob and I had two weeks to make the most of our time there. I've already written about some of the main wonderful experiences we had - Duart Castle , Iona, Lunga and Staffa , and Otterly Fabulous - but, there was so much more I could have shared. Unfortunately though, that would simply take too long. So, in this post I wanted to share some of the other highlights from our trip. WEEK 1 During the first half of our stay we were based in Dervaig. We had several trips in to Tobermory, partly because it was the closest place for us to buy any supplies we needed, but also so we could enjoy sauntering around the pretty harbour. The weather was very changeable the whole holiday, so I was grateful we had at least one sunny morning in the town, when the tide was in. The colourful row of buildings look so bright and cheerful. I don't seem to tire of this view. It makes me smile!
Our visit to the Isle of Mull was wonderful in so many different ways. Our outings exploring the area around Duart Castle were unexpectedly great, we also had some brilliant experiences visiting the other smaller islands off the west coast of Mull - Iona, Lunga and Staffa , but it was an Otter I most wanted to see. The question was, would it live up to expectations having had some amazing experiences the previous year. I certainly hoped so, especially as it was Bob's first time to Mull and he'd only had a few otter encounters before, one of which was when he was a young boy. Like last time, I booked two days with photographer Brian Boyes, but this time a week apart. Even though wildlife sightings are never guaranteed, I knew we stood our best chance of seeing otters with him. He knew the island so much better than us, plus, he could drop us off if we were lucky enough to have sightings and wait for us elsewhere. There aren't always car parks nearby and I was advised you shouldn't park in the passing places. It also meant there were 3 pairs of eyes looking out for our target species, which was definitely an advantage. Of course, over the course of our first day, Brian was also able to educate us on how to look for signs of their presence in an area and more importantly, the best practices for photographing otters - the dos and don'ts - always putting wildlife first and our desires second, which to be honest we always try to keep at the forefront of our minds when we are out in nature. On that first day, the morning was really slow. We weren't having much luck spotting any otters, though there were plenty of other things of interest to stop and photograph to help pass the time, such as Hooded Crows and Oystercatchers.
