Itchen Floodplain


The whole family ventured over into Hampshire yesterday to meet up with some great friends of ours. We met at the base of St. Catherine's Hill NNR (just outside Winchester) but did not go up the muddy slopes to the summit, but instead took to a series of footpaths that ran along the Itchen Navigation/River and then went out and onto the flood plain, where chalk streams meandered across the wild grassland. Apart from a solitary Kingfisher it was all quiet on the birding front, but it looks an interesting place botanically, and the nearby hill boasts Musk and Frog Orchids during the height of the summer. As a well known Austrian actor once said, "I'll be back."


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