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I’ve read recently that the UK butterfly population is in decline due to the recent wet Summers interfering with their breeding season. However we seem to be bucking this trend in our garden in Berwick upon Tweed in north east England, where we have seen more butterflies than ever this Summer.

We have regularly been spotting 4 Peacock butterflies on one particular flowering shrub.

It’s been wonderful to see these butterflies in our own back yard, as Peacock butterflies are considered to be one of the most beautiful species of butterfly in the world.

One the things I was really looking forward to doing on my recent trip to Aberdeenshire was returning to the Forvie National Nature Reserve as I think that the sand dunes there are really dramatic and beautiful. The area is even dubbed the “Northern Sahara” due to all of the sand left after the last ice age around 15,000 years ago. The present dunes are thought to be around 2000 years old. The mud flats in the estuary are home to many types of marine life and birds.

Sand dune at Forvie Reserve
Imagine my surprise when arrived at nature reserve car park to see a construction site sporting an enormous crane on the other side of the estuary. I thought that it was a real blot on the landscape and I wondered how on earth the builders had managed to get planning consent.

The building site opposite Forvie Reserve

I spoke to a local resident out walking her dog and she told me that although there had been a lot of local opposition that planning consent had been given mainly because it was a brownfield site where there had been industrial use. Evidently the town houses in the development will have a price tag of around half a million pounds. This is truly amazing as there is still a large industrial unit on the development site, which you can see to the right of the photo with the low sun shining on one side of the building. Imagine paying hundreds of thousands of pounds for a house with supposedly great views and seeing, even partially, a large steel shed. Perhaps we can call on Forvie’s Curse, where according to local folklore, three sisters were set adrift in a leaky boat so that they could not inherit. The sisters placed a curse on Forvie, saying the it should only contain thistle and sand. The curse resulted in a fierce storm which covered the village in sand. I’d certainly rather see thistle and sand than a luxury housing development so near a nature reserve.

The Falls of Feugh are just outside the Aberdeenshire town of Banchory. It was amazing to watch the salmon attempting to leap up against the torrent of water.

On several occasions two salmon leapt simultaneously but I didn’t manage to capture that on film. The fish must have been exhausted with so many failed attempts as I didn’t spot any fish making it up during the 15 minutes I stood observing them from the footbridge.

This evening when we were walking over the Royal Tweed Bridge in Berwick upon Tweed we spotted this goose in between 4 cygnets paddling along behind a mature swan.

The salmon net fishing has commenced at the estuary of the River Tweed in Berwick upon Tweed. You can watch the process from the quayside or the old bridge. The same process of sweep netting has been used for generations. The net is spread by the boat, called a coble. Then the fishermen pull in the net by hand while they are standing on the small island exposed at low tide. This process is repeated many times.

Sweep netting fishing at Berwick upon Tweed

The net fishermen are being paid by the River Tweed Commission not to fish during the first part of the season in order to conserve fish stocks.

The Aberlady Bay Local Nature Reserve lies 20 miles east of Edinburgh in East Lothian. In 1952 it became the first local nature reserve in the UK. The reserve is also a Site of Special Scientific Interest. The Reserve is best known for birdwatching and is home to some rare birds such as skylarks. A small herd of roe deer live in the area.

Wooden footbridge at Aberlady Nature Reserve 

There’s a fairly good footpath after you cross the wooden bridge and it takes around one and half hours to do the full walk. The reserve is just east of the village of Aberlady on the A198. The car park is not well signposted from the A198 but look out for the layby on the side of the road next to the coast. You can see the wooden pedestrian bridge as you approach. There are public toilets at the layby.

View to Aberlady village from the reserve

There are lovely views as you the walk, across the Bay to Aberlandy and out to the Forth Estuary and over to Fife.

Newhaven Harbour is now a departure point for boat trips or “seafaris” to the Firth of Forth. You must book for all trips by phoning 0131 331 4857. There’s a one hour seafari to spot wildlife seals. puffins and guillemots or two hour trips to the island of Inchcolm where you can visit the Abbey.

The Newhaven Museum located in the Fish Market building is closed for renovation at present. It’s free to park by the harbour and there’s a bus stop. There are views up the Forth Estuary towards the bridges and over the Fife. There are several pubs and restaurants so you could have a day out in the area.

Last week we stayed at a holiday cottage on the Leckmelm estate just outside Ullapool, in the Scottish Higlands.  One evening as I was descending the stairs in the cottage I spotted a deer grazing just outside the cottage, through the glass at the top of the front door.

We saw many deer during our week in the Highlands. unfortunately several of them dead by the road side.  It is one of the hazards of driving in the Highlands.  We did have deer cross the road in front of us but it was a single track road so we’d time to slow down.  We watched a couple of deer grazing in a field below one of the walks from the cottage. There were aware that we were close and would look up regularly to check on us.

[tags]Scottish Highlands, deer[/tags]

When I was in North Berwick on Tuesday I was amazed that the Bass Rock, an island two miles off the coast, looked so white. In the first photo you can see it looming in the background and you think it could be smoke from a fire or a very low fluffy cloud.

As you get closer it still looks rather like a white mirage. I’ve been in North Berwick many times over the years but perhaps the combination of the bird breeding season, no rain and bright sunshine made the rock look even whiter.

[tags]North Berwick, Bass Rock, Scotland[/tags]

I know it looks more like the Loch Ness monster but it’s the best photo we could get of the otter yesterday evening in Berwick.  I’ve only seen it around the old bridge at high tide.  It moves so quickly it’s hard to get a good photo.