It’s time for a change of scenery, to see some of the South Downs National Park which is adjacent to Chichester. There’s no better place, in my opinion, than the Arun Valley which is were we went to walk; the circular one starting at Bury, going through Amberley to South Stoke and back through Houghton.
The river was draining away fast as the tide dropped but that didn’t stop the Reed Warblers who were very vocal as were other birds on the bank too.
For the first time in a while there were plenty of butterflies about clearly enjoying the sunshine and lack of wind. In the meadow just before the Suspension bridge we saw at least twenty Meadow Browns, further on a couple of Speckled Browns and a Tortoiseshell.Grazing amongst the lush meadows were several herds of cattle, in several variations. There were a couple of herds of what I first assumed to be Friesians. However they might well have been Holsteins which is a development of the Friesian with a better yield but looking very similar. Near South Stoke were this group of what appeared to be Jersey Cows, certainly very content. Near Amberley were these black cows and what might have been some sort of Shorthorn; possibly were they Aberdeen Angus, these are certainly numerous. Or maybe they’re some rather special rare breeds as they’re right in the middle of the National Park.
Several flowers were out that were not often seen close to the Harbour. Various Vetchlings, in particular the yellow Meadow Vetchling were out.
This striking Bellflower, about a metre high is the Nettle Leaved Bellflower which occurred in several places along the narrow strip of land between the river and the cliff approaching Houghton. This is a most interesting habitat that, although facing south, is kept quite damp and is full of interesting ferns and the like.