Pewet Island, Bradwell-on-Sea and Othona

Bradwell Marina - a good place for a picnic

We checked the weather forecast carefully on Saturday and headed south along the coast, into Essex. Many moons ago I did my A Level History project on the Roman forts of the Saxon Shore, but had never visited the scanty remains of the fort at Bradwell, which shares a site with the historic church of St Peter at Othona.

The strip of land straddling both ends of the photo above is Pewet Island. I was intrigued by the name, assuming that it was after the Lapwing or 'Peewit'. More research needed here!

The first butterfly of the day was a rather pale Clouded Yellow. It is not a species we see very often, though I have seen these  butterflies on a bank at Minsmere on occasions.

We called in at the church of St Thomas, which, as you can see, was built and re-built at different times. We reckoned we found some Roman tiles in amongst the masonry. 

Window in the church of St Thomas

It was time to head on out to Othona to see the church founded by St Cedd. You can see him holding a small version of it in the stained glass window above. 

Our first sight of the Chapel of St Peter-ad-Muram

We made our way down the track, looking across to the sunny shores of Mersea Island.

The footpath bordered farm land, and it was a joy to see Scabious heads popping up here and there. 

The church is the earliest existing one in Essex, built in AD 653

St Peter's was built on the west wall of the Roman fort of Othona. We could make out a rise in the turf and we found signs of masonry but there was not much to be seen of the fort. 

St Peter's is used as a regular place of worship by the Othona Community. 

I thought you would like to see inside! There was a leaflet of poems by Trevor Thorn: you can read some of his pieces here. 

My constant refrain recently has been that August has felt like October! You can see the wealth of autumn berries in the photo below. Walkers are requested to avoid the Cocklespit Nature Reserve and saltmarsh you see in the picture to preserve its delicate ecological balance. The area, managed by the Essex Wildlife Trust, is a site of special scientific interest (SSSI). It is apparently one of only eight places in the country where the rare jumping spider, Euophrys browningi, has been recorded (but see also this Essex Field Club report as to the identity of the spider in question).

I may have known about the Saxon Shore since my school days but I first encountered the estuary a decade ago through a poem called 'Blackwater' by Lavinia Greenlaw in her collection, Minsk (Faber and Faber 2003). Greenlaw's evocation of the scene came to life in a new way as I stood on the shoreline of this strangely silent corner of Essex.   

The water may have been a deep blue but the mudflats beyond the bank of shells had a distinctly dark tinge to them! 

The banks of broken shell reflected the light. We were standing on the footpath when a stoat popped out. It retreated pretty quickly and I failed to get a photograph, but it was good to catch a glimpse of this animal at relatively close quarters. 

The shore is lined with unusual flora. White butterflies were plentiful and every so often they would alight on these yellow marsh plants.   

The photo below shows what I assume are - in part, at least - the wooden remains of Saxon fish traps or later substitutes. The Saxon traps were huge contraptions as this extraordinary reconstruction shows. 

It was soon time to return to the marina for a cup of tea, but I couldn't resist a last look back ...

Sites of archaeological interest are very often good locations for wildlife. We had almost completed our expedition when I spotted a Painted Lady, the first specimen I have seen this year - and a rather faded one at that, but lovely to see. 

We also saw a couple of damselflies on the brambles. This is a Common Blue ...

And finally, I noticed this bee alighting on a teasel. 

Teasel ... used for carding wool?

The Othona area is a fascinating place to visit with its wide skies and long stretches of coast inhabited by Whimbrel and other waders. I particularly like the fact that the Roman fort was replaced by a church under Cedd, with his Lindisfarne connections.  

Previous mentions of the Saxon Shore ...

• Walton Castle
• Burgh Castle and here

David's posts

• on the Saxon Shore fortifications

Beside the Sea ~ Roman Oysters at Felixstowe?

We took a walk along the front at Felixstowe some days ago during a lull in the weather. It is strange to think that a Roman fortification called Walton Castle, probably a part of the defences of the 'Saxon Shore', used to be about here.  

The Romans were fond of oysters, and these piled up in midden mounds.

We spotted a couple of mermaids' purse egg cases (probably from Skate, Dogfish or Ray) along the strandline. 

The Roman invasions are over, but fishing continues on this coast ...

... and there are still plenty of oyster shells to be seen.

Butterflies and Moths: A Caterpillar with Red Spots on Mersea Island

We crossed over The Strood, the small causeway bridge separating Mersea Island from the Essex mainland. There are certain tides in the year when you cannot cross for a few hours, but as you can see, we had no difficulty today.
 

I was quite excited by this caterpillar. The two red spots suggested to me that it would be potentially harmful, so I only allowed myself to get 'up close and personal' via my zoom lens.

The caterpillar turns out to be the larva of a Brown-tailed Moth. I have only seen this species once before, and that was on the Spurn Head peninsula. You can read the health warning here. You can read about these caterpillars in Suffolk here.

On Spurn, we had seen the tents, but here I could only find the one individual in my photos. It will turn into a black chrysalis later this month, before emerging as a brown-bodied white-winged moth in July.   

We enjoyed a quick wander through Cudmore Country Park ...

... taking in the views ...

 ... and looking right across to Bradwell and Othona. My zoom was on maximum, and the image was very fuzzy, but I quite like the effect. The building above is St Peter's Chapel. It was constructed in 654 by St Cedd from the masonry of a nearby Roman fortification that formed part of the Saxon Shore. The ruined chapel was used as a lighthouse in Tudor times. You can read more here.

The photo above shows the footpath on Mersea Island to the foot ferry to Brightlingsea. We saw Lapwing and Swallows from this path - and Skylarks as we walked through the footpath in the grassy areas of the country park. 

The clergyman, Sabine Baring Gould, who penned the words to the hymn 'Onward Christian Soldiers', was the incumbent (1870-1881) at East Mersea's church, dedicated to St Edmund King and Martyr. He wrote Mehalah, a Gothick novel of violence and tragedy, about the island. The tale is certainly atmospheric (rather like parts of The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins). Mehalah is a very strange read!

• Mersea Island blog about wildlife on the island

Beautiful Birds (and a Couple of Lighthouses!)

We have been out and about on the estuaries of the rivers Stour and Orwell. We went for a walk on Saturday in the vicinity of the (Roman-built) Saxon Shore fortification known as Walton Castle, which stood on the coast at what is now known as Felixstowe. You can read about the site here. You can only - possibly - see remains at a very low tide, which is why I was not able to take a photograph. I must wait patiently for the right time of the year ...

Then yesterday afternoon we turned our attention to the banks of the Stour. We had hoped to see waders in the form of winter migrants, but our path did not take us close enough to the water's edge for any decent pictures. However, I took a couple of record shots of Brent Geese in a scrubby field which you see below. These were a first for my 2013 bird-list, along with five Curlews that flew overhead. The Brent Geese in the photo above are small creatures. Adult birds have the distinctive white stripe on their necks. They will have been here on our coast since the autumn, and will probably leave Britain in about a month's time. You can find out more about them here - and what happened back in 1930.

We had actually been looking for the Stour Estuary RSPB Reserve, which we found later in the afternoon, but we ended up initially at the Wrabness Nature Reserve, run by the Essex Wildlife Trust.  

The Wrabness Reserve boasts a rich collection of fauna and flora, so perhaps we will head back there in butterfly and damselfly season. We heard fabulous birdsong, but only caught sight few of the songsters, such as a Blackbird and a Blue tit.

We drove on to Harwich, a town I had never visited before. By this time the light was fading, but we were able to see three lighthouses. I particularly liked the one known (appropriately) as the High Light (here). You can see Constable's painting of the Low Light (as it was in his day) here. 

Butterflies and Moths (9): At Burgh Castle Saxon Shore Fort

David finding the perfect photo spot inside Burgh Castle walls

I had not been here for many years, but this impressive Roman fort on the Saxon Shore (along with others) was the subject of my A Level History project many moons ago. I may post a piece about the Saxon Shore over on my Coastcard Poetry Plus blog in the next few days, but this post here (and a couple of subsequent ones) will be about the wildlife we encountered. 

The sun was shining most of the time - a rare treat this 'summer' in our corner of the world - but there was a breeze, so I wasn't sure what to expect in terms of lepidoptera. As we walked through the beautiful meadowlands, we soon realised that we were surrounded by lively butterflies like the (female) Meadow Brown above.

We walked on a bit towards the castle walls, and I spotted this butterfly in a grassy verge. It was busy 'nectaring' on what I took to be a kind of red (purple!) dead nettle. I think it may be a member of the Hesperiidae, otherwise known as Skippers. Possibly a Large Skipper? 

The butterfly resting.

The final species of butterfly we noticed was this male Common Blue (Polyommatus icarus). It was a bit ragged around the edges, but a delight to watch.

You can read about the dragonfly we saw at Burgh Castle here in the next post. Meanwhile, if you live in the UK, you might like to take part in the Big Butterfly Count. It is something I hope to do, and I look forward to sharing my results.