We were blessed with excellent weather today for our Fairlight Glen walk. The route started round the top where we stopped to admire the tenacity of the beech tree literally growing out of the rock and the Ordnance Survey bench mark in the rock, a bit of “official graffiti” along with the inevitable names. We then took the ghyll stream path up to the dripping well taking in the unique vegetation on the way, then it was up the steps and down again to take the path through Longshore Wood and up Smugglers Steps. Thence on to Barn Pond and in the hedge on the way, Sam our invertebrate spotter found us this Longhorn Beetle which my book has as Strangalia maculata but it seems to have changed to Rutpela maculata, hence the title and also an immature male Broad Bodied Chaser.

At Barn Pond we were treated to Broad Bodied Chasers, Emperor Dragonflies and Linnet taking advantage of the Parrot’s Feather to have a drink in the middle of the pond. We also saw a few grass vetchling in flower where I saw many last year. Still not a great day for butterflies only Meadow Brown and Small/Essex Skipper.