Dorset Walks

Bulbarrow

Monday July 16th 2012

We could see the cloud thinning as we drove up through Dorset and by the time we got to Bulbarrow the rain was down to a minor drizzle. This blew past as we walked along the road to the hillside and in the end we enjoyed a very pleasant walk watching the views gradually unfold in front of us.

The first part of the walk was through some heavily-grazed sheep pasture and we could see the effect that constant grazing and manuring had on the biodiversity of the site. Even though this was south-facing slope there was only a handful of species present, mostly nettle, thistles and a few grasses.

As we got the hillfort we stepped out into a completely different landscape. The banks were a blaze of purple and yellow; the purple from the thyme, self-heal and pyramid orchids and the yellow from birdsfoot trefoil and mouse-ear hawkweed. Here and there were dots of pale blue where the Small Scabious were flowering and patches of pink-white Squinancywort.

Our return walk was even more eventful as hundreds of very hungry sheep were driven into the field we were walking through!

Birds

Raven
Swallow
Linnet
Yellowhammer

Insects

Meadow Brown

Plants

Agrimony
Ash
Birdsfoot Trefoil
Black Medick
Blackthorn
Bracken
Bramble
Bush Vetch
Common Hogweed
Common Ragwort
Creeping Thistle
European Gorse
Greater Knapweed
Hoary Plantain
Lady's Bedstraw
Mouse-ear Hawkweed
Musk Thistle

Pyramidal Orchid
Red Clover
Rough Hawkbit
Salad Burnet
Self-heal
Small Scabious
Spear Thistle
Squinancywort

Stemless Thistle
Stinging Nettle
White Clover
Wild Thyme
Yorkshire Fog

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