I saw a lizard in the Lakes over the weekend - it was very exciting, as I've hardly ever seen one in this country. I wish I'd been quicker on the draw with the camera, but it was long gone before I even found the case.
I think I've seen a grass snake once, and a slow worm, but not yet an adder. I hope I might see an adder in or around the Charr bothy area in May, as I'm told there are a lot up there :)
I also found a little frog in the porch of my tent when I started to pack up last Sunday morning :) It had settled itself down into the grass backwards.
I found a Lizard in my porch when I was at the Red Squirrel campsite in Glencoe, I thought it was a snake so screamed like a big girl and then I realised it had legs and screamed harder!!!
I've just realised its like 2:40am and I gotta be at work for 9am, oops!
I guess you're a bit bleary eyed this morning then Jamie:)
I saw a wee lizard on Dartmoor on Sunday, the first one I've spotted this year.
Paddy mentioned Devon - if anyone's doing the SW coast path this Summer, look out for glow worms. I used to see lots down in Cornwall, if you're lucky enough to see a few dozen all together it really is magical. I think the glowing season starts in May.
I think I've made my case for more rocks in TGO.
Maybe a general point is that the popular walking areas do get revisited again and again by the outdoor mags.. In taking a new angle with an emphasis on some aspect of Natural History, Archaeology, Geology....whatever, it does add a freshness and encourage us to walk in familiar areas but experience them from a new perspective.
I think geology feeds our sense of wonder when we try to understand the secrets locked up in the rocks we walk on. I love to hear people getting excited about rocks and I don’t think it would take more than a little simple information to inspire people. I’d like to see more that would bridge the gap between simplistic descriptions like ‘craggy peak’ and ‘rocky headland’ but stopped short of the complex detail best left to specialist publications.
We could set up an Outdoors Magic Geological Society. If there are any questions at all, I know there is enough combined knowledge on here to answer them all.
This year I'm studying 'hard-rocks' but I'm still a sedimentologist at heart!
If not a Geological Society, how about a Nature Society, encompassing all things concerning our natural countryside?
Yep! That's the spirit Stef. There's plenty of opportunity to make walks even more interesting. I have no idea of the geology of the Peak District for instance, but someone else would, and could lead that trip. Similarly I could lead a trip in the Cheviots etc.
I'm already in the OUGS and am attending somewhere in the region of 9 field trips this year, along with a week long one near Pitlochry in August.
