End of May Visit to Herefordshire - Part 1: Hatfield

 

We returned to Herefordshire last week for 4 nights and this time D came too :)  We arrived on the Wednesday and stayed until the Sunday. I'd had to go to the GP's before we left as yet again cellulitis has raised its ugly head. Although the locum I saw seemed to think it may be another condition which sounds even worse than cellulitis!  The weather was lovely if a trifle too hot at times!!! We had a good journey and spent the rest of the day relaxing at the site.

There has been little change in the Herefordshire Oak, Octopus and Constable Trees since the last visit.

On the last morning (Saturday) we were lucky to see a Painted Lady nectaring on the perennial wallflower in the border. It stayed around for about half an hour.  I know there has been an influx of this species into the country but this is the first I have seen this year.

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D re-potted a dahlia and geranium I had bought and also sowed nasturtium and calendula seeds in pots.

Spiderlings on the car door!

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The family are all huge Aston Villa supporters. I have supported them since my father took me to my first match at Villa Park when I was around 11.  Sadly, we don't go to matches these days but the Europa League Final was on tv Wednesday night so we watched the game.  We were thrilled when Villa won the match 3-0 and thus the Cup.

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Warning don't look at  the next photo if you don't like spiders!

Zebra spider on one of the caravan windows.

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I used the bat detector most nights and we also had quite close views of the bats foraging right by the caravan.  We put out hedgehog food and saw the hedgehog one night. Record shot by D.

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2026 Wild Plant Challenge

We continued with our quest to see 100 plants this year and managed to add several species to the list.

Not sure what this thistly type plant in the lawn is though!

If you enlarge the photo you may be able to make out tiny yellow flowers below the daisies. This plant is Lesser Trefoil.

Ash and Hazel

Clover

We also added Mistletoe (no photo as it is now mainly out of sight due to leaves on the trees) and Greater Stitchwort.

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One evening D and B went a walk around the pool and lower field.  I didn't go as I had been walking round Leominster with D that day and my ankles and feet had swollen up again! So these are D's photos from the walk.  The mannequin dressed in red by the pool is quite frankly scary and I can only assume it has been put there to frighten away Canada Geese.

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D also walked to the Hen House at  the end of the drive to buy some eggs. 

Cow Parsley

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Nuthatch on the feeders and a Swallow.

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On the Thursday we went to Tesco in Tenbury Wells to do a food shop.  The verges of the lanes are full of Cow Parsley and Buttercups. Hawthorn is past its best now but Elderflower is starting to flower - another new species for the Wild Plant Challenge.

On the Friday D and I went to Stocktonbury Gardens which I will write about in the next post.

All photos taken by me with the Panasonic Lumix FZ330 bridge camera and those marked *D taken by my son with the Canon SX50HS bridge camera. (I don't particularly rate my photos but if anyone wishes to use one of mine or my son's I would be grateful for an email first - thanks)

May Visit to Herefordshire

 

The week before last after visiting Brueton Park LNR on the Tuesday with D, B and I went to the static caravan in Herefordshire just for three nights as the weather forecast didn't seem too good. As it turned out it was dry and sunny most of the time!

Since our April visits the Herefordshire Trees are now in leaf.

Herefordshire Oak

Octopus Tree

Constable Tree

The rose in a pot we bought last year has developed lots of new growth.

The bay tree is doing well.

Both brooms in one of the borders are flowering really well.

The apple tree has blossom. We had a really good crop of cooking apples last year from this tree.

D planted this sage which he had grown from seed and it is doing really well. This year it is flowering.

I planted just one Fox and Cubs and it is spreading!

Periwinkle and Hawthorn

The perennial wallflower I planted is growing really well.

Forget-me-Nots

Leaf Mining Bees are using the bee hotel again this year.

Thursday we went into Tenbury Wells to do a food shop at Tesco. The hedgerows and grass verges are looking wonderful full of hawthorn flowers, buttercups, dandelions, cow parsley and red campion. I do love the month of May.

We didn't go anywhere on the Friday as B wanted to garden. At tea time there were showers and a rainbow.

The field in front of the caravan is full of dandelions - so good for pollinating insects.

Hawthorn

Last month B and D put some mistletoe berries into one of the branches on the apple tree and we were thrilled to see one was sprouting although I think it can take several years before the mistletoe plant starts to appear.

I used the bat detector on the Friday evening and it was picking up calls although it was too dark to see the bats.  I am really pleased that there are still hedgehogs on the site as there were droppings on the grass.  I will start putting food out for them again when we next visit. I was worried last year that they had suffered from the dry weather as the food just wasn't getting eaten. House Martins are back on the site too.

We came home on the Saturday lunchtime. Hopefully, we will return soon and stay for longer.

All photos taken by me with the Panasonic Lumix FZ330 bridge camera. (I don't particularly rate my photos but if anyone wishes to use one of mine or my son's I would be grateful for an email first - thanks).