28th March 2016: It was still quite windy this morning after the passing of ‘Storm Katie’ during the early hours. There were a number of branches strewn across the roads on the drive over to Ebbor Gorge. I was glad to see there were no other vehicles in the car park so the walk should be free from grockles and crappy, yappy dogs! There were some wind blown trees down in the valley particularly those draped in ivy and it was obvious that some clearing work was in progress. Down in the sheltered valley there was plenty of birdsong to listen to and primroses were in abundance, it was peaceful. Up in the gorge there has been quite a bit of scrub clearance and the rock faces are more exposed and accessible, at least until the nettles grow up. There was a good stream of water flowing down through the gorge too.
The damp conditions have encouraged an algal growth on the rock face in the gorge.
Overhead I could hear a peregrine calling but never caught glimpse of it, although I did spot a rather fine nuthatch. Walking down from the top of the gorge there were some early flowering bluebells and wood anemones too. Managed to get back to the car park without meeting anyone – marvellous.
A pleasant mornings stroll out with the dog.
The entrance to Savory’s Hole, the cave is presently occupied by brock.
