Shillinglee Lake

It was very comfortable on the common. But, it was time to move on. Tacked down and all onboard, I pulled off and headed back the way we had come. At the end of the road, I turned left to continue on. In a few minutes, I pulled off of the road again and settled onto a wide verge opposite a farm with a sizeable duck pond.

Canada geese

Mallards

Down the side of the pond, steps lead down

pass the pond, marking the start of my walk.

The path lead pass the farmhouse and some old sheds.

Honeysuckle

Lawson Cypress

Oriental Plane

Elder

Bird’s-foot Trefoil

Greater Bird’s-foot Trefoil

Baby Oak

Cut-leaved Crane’s-bill

The path leads up to a field of Wheat

Bramble

Long-leaf Dock

Spent flowers of Hawthorn

Field Briar

Hemlock Water-dropwort

Bee in Foxglove

Spanish Foxglove

Hedge Woundwort

Hedge of Ash

Soon, I was in the woods.

Very young Holly

Beech nuts

Tufted Vetch

I then passed by a field,

before entering a forest of Scots Pine.

Queen Anne’s Thistle

Yorkshire-fog

Field Sowthistle

Water Forget-me-not

Ribbon Grass

Ash

I eventually reached Shillinglee Lake. With all the hot dry weather of late, the lake was almost dry.

Dry sluice

False-stinking Chamomile

Groundsel

Mugwort

Daisies

There are a number of properties that look out over the lake.

Sage

Flower box

Green Alkanet

Meadow Barley

Portuguese Laurel

Rhododendron

Copper Beech

White Willow

Sweetgum

Cupressus macrocarpa

Onwards, I passed by another old building,

a roofless, doorless building with a derelict machine wheel

and the carcass of a small barn.

Meadow Vetchling

Common Knapweed

Meadow Foxtail

St. John’s Wort

Ash fruit

Marsh Arrow-grass

Lesser Stitchwort

Mammoth Clover

I reached a point, just before entering more woodland where there were a lot of Blue Damselflies.

Very young Birch

Pendulous Sedge

The footpath continued through Bracken,

then Stinging Nettles.

It was incredibly busy with an array of butterflies. Sadly, I couldn’t get any photographs.

Creeping Buttercup

Just beyond, I was startled by a buzzard as it took off from the undergrowth. It happened so suddenly that I couldn’t get a decent photo.

Germander Speedwell

Little Robin

Dog-rose

Cow Parsley

Perennial Honesty

French Rose

Common Spotted Orchid

Herb Robert

Norway Spruce

Finally, I came out back on Piper’s Lane, where I could see Black Down in the distance.

There was a lot of Broad-leaf Dock along the hedge.

Very soon, I was in sight of home.

That evening, I was treated to a lovely sunset.

It was very peaceful there. The road was even quieter than the common at Ebernoe. It was easy to forget that there is a world of hustle and bustle; of noise and the constant rat-race.

I can’t help but notice that this entry in particular has an awful lot of photos. Do you think that it’s too many? Please let me know how you are enjoying the blog, or not. It’s always good to receive feedback, good and bad. It’s a good guide! To be fair though, there was an awful lot to take photos of! Would you believe that what you have here was whittled down from over 170 shots!