Beech Tunnel at Sharpenhoe

I’d had three super fun scrambling days with Intothehills whilst Peter was working, (he doesn’t like heights), so today was his planned day off and we were going up Helvellyn. Only when we opened the curtains we could see the rain blowing horizontally across Thirlmere and the sky looking menacing. Humph. Our plan needed a rethink.

So we set off for home and as we drove south the sky cleared and the sun came out, as forecast for southern England. We stopped off to walk on the chalk hills at Sharpenhoe, at the northern end of the Chilterns. The hills here are mere pimples compared to Helvellyn, but the woodland was beautiful with sunlight shining through the leaves and the wild flowers in the hedgerows and meadows were a delight. In extras I’m blipping a Clustered Bellflower (I think), aka Dane’s Blood or Campanula glomerata; Sainfoin, Onobrychis viclifolia; and Woolly Thistle, Cirsium eriophorum. Just a few of a multitude of wild flowers and of course there were butterflies, bees & dragonflies too.