Mendip Butterfly Bonanza

A wonderful 9.5 mile trek across the Mendips in a mixture of sunshine and thunderstorms.  The scenery beautiful with a mixture of heathers, gorse and bracken on the upland and summer grasses, vetch, thistles, knapweed, ragwort, rosebay willow herb etc seen everywhere.

The abundance of wild flowers providing food plants for an array of insects including the15 butterflies species that we saw.

A few birds to be seen included meadow pipits, linnets, kestrel, buzzard, ravens, and a peregrine heard from the top of Cheddar Gorge.

The rich mixture of flora, fauna and natural landscape truly lifts the spirit! 

Summer flora - grasses, ragwort and foliage

Ling and Erica - a purple carpet on Blackdown

Green Veined White on Rosebay Willow Herb

Tufted Vetch and Mendip fields

Small Skipper

Marbled White - plenty to be seen across the grassy wild meadows

Dark Green Fritillary - a stunning butterfly 3 of them seen on one small area of Knapweed together 

with about 7 marbled whites.

Summer meadow - Natures garden, perfection!

Ground Thistle - intense purple and great for skippers

Peacock - trying to soak up some heat

Comma on Bramble flower

Antler moth on Ragwort

View across Cheddar Gorge

Small Copper - another stunning little butterfly.  Great colours and markings.

Typical wild Mendips view.  Drystone walls and wild meadows - heaven!