Jay at Woods Mill Nature Reserve

The family all went down to Sussex Wildlife Trust’s Woods Mill Nature Reserve last Sunday.

The weather was great. Arwyn loves being out amongst nature and had a lot of fun looking at all the birds, the flowers, and all the carp you can see from the bridge across the pond. A little bit like Daddy, he loves checking out insects, too!

There were plenty of butterflies out, particularly Orange Tip & Brimstone.

I also spotted a jay on our walk and took a few photos. They’re amazing-looking birds and this is the closest I have been to one so far.

Woods Mill Nature Reserve is great. Apart from all the fabulous wildlife to see, there’s also some ponds to go pond dipping, and some fantastic little den areas for kids to play in and around. If you have a chance, you should go!

Unknown Spider

My first post since June. I have been very bad at updating the blog, for various reasons.

After wandering into Windsor to take a load of photos today, Yayoi and I discovered this spider on the way back.

I’d love to know what kind of spider it is, so let me know, if you know!

Stepping Back in Time – Donnington Castle

Some black and white photos of Donnington Castle, near Newbury, taken in April when we visited.

Windsor Great Park Butterflies – The Large White

More photos of butterflies that flit around Windsor Great Park.

Here we have the Large White.

The Large White butterfly is also more commonly known as the Cabbage White.

The Vyne – National Trust

Yayoi and I took another daytrip from Windsor on 4th May – this time to The Vyne, a National Trust property near Basingstoke.

The Vyne is a Tudor house which was visited on a few occasions by Henry VIII.

The house was built in the 16th Century for William Sandys, Lord Chamberlain to Henry VIII. The estate was sold to a Chaloner Chute in the mid-17th Century and remained in the Chute family until it was given to the National Trust in the mid-20th Century.

You can of course explore the house, which has a magnificent Tudor chapel, but you can also walk around the lake and grounds, where you can see the Walled Garden and Summerhouse.

The weather was a bit overcast and windy on our visit, which was a shame, but the house inside is incredible, taking you back over 300 years!

Windsor – Long Walk, Pheasants, Deer, and Clouds in May

On 3rd May, another lovely Spring day took Yayoi and I out for a walk around our back garden of Windsor Great Park.

We ambled down the Long Walk within the Deer Park, taking photos as we went. As well as a few pheasant in the woods, we also took some photos of all the deer grouped together – we didn’t go any closer as they can be a bit dangerous at this time of year.

The sky was incredibly beautiful on that day and deserved some photos, too!

Windsor Great Park Butterflies – The Orange-tip

Another walk around Windsor Great Park, another butterfly.

People must be bored by now by my interest in butterflies. Without doubt, I am definitely in the wrong job and should be working with wildlife and nature!

Yayoi and I spotted an Orange-tip in early May. We’ve seen a few around recently.

Unfortunately the Orange-tip butterfly was closed most of the time and we couldn’t see it in its full glory. You can just see the orange poking out though – and it certainly was a hairy little fellow!

10th Wedding Anniversary Celebrations at Cornucopia in Windsor

Congratulations to the W’s on reaching their 10th wedding anniversary! We hope you have as much fun in the next ten!

We had a lovely meal out in Cornucopia in Windsor on Saturday to celebrate and much fun and wine was had by all the gang!

M&G – sorry you had to leave early before I took the photo. Do you want me to Photoshop you in?