Whats happening above ground around the campsite

Its really easy to spend the day with your head down dealing with things infront of you. Its very invigorating to take a break from this and start to look upwards and forwards. Sometimes this is where all of the fun can be had

Foraging

By day we’re peering up into the crowns of trees. The sheer abundance of fruits, seeds and nuts hanging from the trees is a sure sign that Autumn is well and truly here.

The leaves are now beginning to fall and foraging is all of a sudden high on our list of seasonal hobbies. We’re lucky enough to have a wide variety of fruit trees dotted around the campsite. Their branches are currently heavy with all sorts of sweet offerings. The wild plums of the Bullace tree are a particular favourite. They are delicious when quickly stewed with some sugar or honey. Feel free to sample a few if you’re staying with us, its different to the everyday plum, richer and more velvety. There are lots of exciting recies to try using unusual native shrubs and trees.

Migrating birds

During the day time you might get distracted from the fruits and nuts by large gatherings of migrating birds. Many of the summers UK breeding birds have left our shores by now. But, some late departures are still feeding up before the long journeys ahead of them. We’ve seen masses of House Martins foraging recently. Soon they’ll be making their way on the long flight to Africa. House Martins are an Amber status bird in the UK

At the opposite end of the scale, Waxwings will soon be arriving from Scandinavia. The UK’s Winter population is estimated to be around 10,000 birds. This can fluctuate markedly, depending on the availability of berries on the continent. So, if its a bad crop in Sweden, we’re hoping that our berry laden hedges and trees will attract these colourful and charismatic birds. It may just be a passing glimpse, but if you see one, its worth it.

Overwintering birds

If the locals are more your thing, murmurations are now in full flow. Take a quick trip down to the coast at Brighton around dusk, where you will see flocks of starlings coming in to roost on the old West pier. Some of these starlings will just have arrived from the east. We caught these photos during an impressive display last week.

The stars

Looking higher up still further, by night we cast our eyes towards the stars. Last month many of our camping visitors settled down with a hot chocolate by the campfire and watched the impressive display of the bright, Perseids meteor shower.

This month we are keeping our eyes peeled for more meteors, this time from the Draconoid shower. Although it is known as a sleepier meteor shower, we’re hoping that we may still catch glimmers during its peak on October 8^th. Our fingers are very tightly crossed!”

Why not pay us a visit and if its chilly outside book a stay in the tree tent or the gridshell and enjoy the wildlife without having to much stuff to put up and take down.