Blooming lovely – and blooming hot!
The recent heatwave has been pretty intense, bringing haymaking into full swing but causing some concern for livestock farmers, as it is preventing the grass from growing to feed the animals in the way it normally would and also making it harder to keep them properly watered. The risk of grass fires in the hot dry uplands is something to be alert for, whilst down in the Severn Valley our local steam railway is taking all possible precautions against any escaping sparks.
Out on the Clee Hills, there are some magnificent displays of foxgloves growing on the exposed slopes, while in the cool damp shade of the Mortimer Forest, wild orchids are growing in profusion. It’s cool and pleasant down by the River Teme at Ludlow in the mornings, with the mighty Castle ruins reflecting in the slow-flowing river at Dinham Bridge.
Guests sitting out in the warm evenings outside the Lodge have seen buzzards and red kites catching the last of the thermals, and as dusk falls they have seen bats out and about catching insects, and even badgers trotting down our drive!
