A beautiful evening walk last night at Burley. After the silence of the hot day the birds were singing from the trees while stonechats clattered their territorial call from the tops of gorse.
The ponies foraged amongst the tall bracken and the sun danced across the mires lighting up the fluffy cottongrass. Dodger (the dog) enjoyed a cool down in the pond and I stood and run my hand through the scented myrtle as I watched the bouncing and splashing from paws and tail.
Heading along the old railway line it is edged with wild flowers from delicate harebell to the "snapping dragons" of toadflax while the shrubbery was draped in honeysuckle before turning into Holmsley inclosure where the sun dappled through the trees as the air turned cooler and the sweet chestnut pollen scattered our path.
Stepping back out onto the heath we were now walking into the lowering sun and the ponies became a silhouette ahead. We carefully and quietly passed mare and inquisitive foal as we headed back to the carpark accompanied by singing birds and setting sun.
Our last joy of the walk was finding an abundance of cinnabar moth caterpillars on ragwort. (A benefit of it being left to grow.)
Thank you Roz Tucker for the amazing photos 🤗 if you would like to join me on this walk on the 30th (with a cheeky refreshment stop at Holmsley Station tearoom) you will find more details here