EAST NORFOLK: Burgh Castle

29th July 2015

On Wednesday Cathy & I decided to visit the old Roman fort at Burgh Castle, which neither of us had been to before. Three of the four walls still remain of the fort, which is owned by the Norfolk Archaelogical Trust and described as "the best preserved Roman monument in East Anglia". Having parked up we took the path along several fields before heading across the final one to the fort itself. As we went we checked the ladybirds we saw, looking for Adonis Ladybird. This is a species that I haven't seen yet, but is apparently commonest near the coast. We didn't see any, but did see several Small and Essex Skippers.

We reached the fort and had a look around the walls before admiring the view across the river and out onto the marshes. The Berney Arms pub and windmill were opposite, and Cantley Beet Factory was also visible on the horizon. We walked down to the riverbank to get a better look, and I noticed a plant that resembled Wild Radish but with different seedpods. A check at home revealed that the plant was the brilliantly named Bastard Cabbage. I don't why it's actually called that, but I'd like to think that it was named by an angry Victorian taxonomist sick of only having cabbage soup to eat. A shower of rain passed overhead, followed by a period of bright sunshine that brought out more butterflies. Standing near the edge of one of the walls a Brown Hawker flew up to us at eye level, no more than a couple of feet away.

On our way back we saw more dragonflies, with both Brown and Migrant Hawkers perching on the hedge in front of us. We diverted into Burgh Castle church, which had an interesting display about the history of the fort, plus some excellent stained glass windows. There are often conflicts when churches host bats, so it was good to see that the church was embracing its bat population. On Wednesday 12th August they are having a bat walk with Philip Parker. Not only can you hear about the bats, there are also infra-red cameras installed to allow you to see them exiting the church. It starts at 7pm and costs £7 if you live nearby and fancy it.

 Brown Hawker

Migrant Hawker

 This interesting chap is St Fursey

Victoria and Alfred - to celebrate two great monarchs 1000 years apart

NORTH NORFOLK: Great Hautbois church

13th August 2014

A visit to North Walsham to see friends gave us an opportunity to call in to another picturesque ruin, this time Great Hautbois church. The church is unusual in that the majority of it is still standing but the roof is missing. The inside of the church is now grassed over, with headstones in too. The path down to it along a meadow was full of Speckled Wood butterflies, along with Brown & Migrant Hawkers. Back at the car I noticed some interesting galls on what I think is Salix, which I am still trying to identify.

NORTH NORFOLK: Creake Abbey & butterflies

12th August 2014

Today we headed out to North Norfolk to visit an English Heritage site, Creake Abbey. On wires nearby Swallows and House Martins were gathering, and a few Swifts were still around nearby. The abbey was nice, if rather small. The wildlife highlight was a Wall butterfly.

Wall butterfly and Pellitory-of-the-Wall, on a wall.

After visiting the abbey we had a look in the nearby courtyard cafe, but it looked a bit posh (12 Quail's eggs anyone?), so we headed to Titchwell for lunch. Afterwards we stopped briefly at Choseley where at least three Clouded Yellows were flying over a field of Lucerne and leguminous plants (a fodder crop maybe?). They didn't settle whilst we were there, but it was still nice to see them as I failed to see any in 2013 despite the influx.

NORFOLK: Castle Acre

29th August 2011

Ostensibly today was a series of historical visits, but we managed to pack in some birds too. We started at the ruined castle at Castle Acre. The site is free to visit and has some chalk flora such as Lesser Calamint to look at when not staring at the ruins or running backwards and forwards over the bridges. The landscape looks a bit like what the Teletubbies home would be like if they decided to fortify it.

After visiting the castle, we went to Castle Acre Priory. Another English heritage site, this one charges admission, and it wa touch and go whether it was worth £5.60. However, as we were already there and it looked quite good, we went in. Straight away I located a calling Grey Wagtail, and we spent a while stalking at least three more amongst the ruins. We also saw a Great Spotted Woodpecker and Margaret found a couple of Little Owl feathers.

After Castle Acre, we briefly stopped at North Elmham Chapel, Norfolk's first Cathedral apparently, and a very small one. Driving back to the Fakenham Road we had just got to Guist Common when a stunning Harris Hawk flew alongside the car and then over the road. I think one has been kicking around that area for a few years, but it was my first experience of one in the 'wild' (I know its an escape). We stopped in case it flew back, and whilst waiting a Bullfinch flew into the hedge.

NORTH NORFOLK: Baconsthorpe Castle

2nd August 2011

Today we visited Baconsthorpe "Castle" (it was a fortified private home) near Holt. Lovely weather, lovely place. It has a moat which connects to a small lake on one side, where we saw a Kingfisher. Scouring the ruins we also found a resting Knot Grass moth blending in well with the lichen. Other stuff of interest were a number of dragonflies and a singing Yellowhammer on the approach road.