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A party of nine incl. Sally’s young grand-daughter set off for South Cumbria taking a route that allowed for a Branch pickup; A65 for most of the way, with a toilet stop at Ingleton.
As was the case for much of July it was warm & dry (the driest July in over a 100 years!). It was also a very breezy day. Our first stop was Foulshaw where we were met by a volunteer warden. Visitors are encouraged to make a donation towards the upkeep of the site. As it was noon we decided to take advantage of the picnic tables & thus took lunch before setting off along the excellent boardwalk. We soon arrived at the Tower viewpoint where we had distant views of Ospreys on their nest. This nest is a little closer than where they previously nested but still too far to be seen without binoculars or ideally a scope.
A few butterflies & damselflies were on the wing but alas no Large Heath Butterflies (only found on sites that support Cotton Grass) or White-faced Darter Dragonflies.
No doubt these species emerged earlier than normal & with every day a ‘flying day! ended their seasons earlier than in the past. We did spot Common & Black Darters but otherwise the moss was fairly quiet insect wise. It was only when entering the surrounding woodland that we found a large sheltered pond that did host many damsels & dragons. We spent over 30 mins observing the patrolling Brown Hawkers & Emperors, Damsels = Common Blue, Blue-tailed & Emerald.
Moving on, we arrived at the nearby Meathop Moss. This is another sight for the above mentioned rarities but there was even less on the wing here. The moss is in dire need of a prolonged soaking. Bog plants incl. Bog Myrtle & Bog Asphodel (largely past its best). An advertising board at the entrance depicted a very rare day flying moth ‘Purple-bordered Gold’. The foodplant of this species is Marsh Cinquefoil but I couldn’t find any?
It was now late in the day & we were all in need of refreshment so we soon found ourselves within the Derby Arms (on the opposite side of the main road from Meathop). Our third & last site was Latterbarrow, a small reserve about 150 yards from the pub. This is a limestone hillside packed with wildflowers such as Agrimony & Dropwort. Plenty of brown & white butterflies and one impressive Silver-washed Fritillary.
Our journey back was interrupted by a stop off in Settle where most of us opted for fish & chips, either in the restaurant or outside with a takeaway.
Many thanks to our two drivers Julia & Viv