Not so much of a naturalist outing more of a day out exploring a couple of the sleepy historic villages of borderland Monmouthshire. First up was Skenfrith. I remember this from my secondary school days when a visit during a stay at the council run Hilston Park field centre resulted in one of the school idiots knocking down a swallows nest that was built in the porch of the local church. Despite this mindless vandalism I was pleased to see the same church was open for inspection on this visit. The visitor book therein made for useful reading with notes of appreciation from tourists from all over the world. Again from the memory of my youth there was a grocery shop in the village, but this is now long gone even so a residential property called the Old Shop had retained the frontage of this trading post. And there around its doorstop was a small thriving population of the grass called cockspur. Not a species I've encountered before but one that can be found frequently in rural Monmouthshire.
About five miles away was the next stop on our little countryside journey. Grosmont with its castle and church with impressive steeple is cloaked in affluence. Access to both features were off the main road through the village. The castle was a tad more impressive than its Skenfrith counterpart with dry moat and wooden bridge access. Whilst my son climbed the accessible walls for an elevated view of the village I chose to look for wall plants elsewhere. Wood sage, red valerian and buddleia were prominent and to my surprise a hummingbird hawk-moth was noted busily feeding on the wealth of flowering valerian.
A pleasing afternoon ended with the purchase of a jar of homemade raspberry jam on sale via a roadside stall and paid for by honesty.
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