There was an over-powering scent of elderflower blossom on the warm sunny evening of Thursday 4th July when Jan Haseler led a walk which started from the lower end of Hook End Lane at Lower Basildon. The route led up the lane, then along the edge of a field on the right. A Small Tortoiseshell butterfly was basking in the sunshine on the west-facing bank below the road. Common Gromwell, Wild Teasel and Hairy St John’s-wort, with prominent black dots round the edges of the sepals and hairy leaves and stems, were growing on the bank. The footpath turned up the hill, next to the hedge in a grassy field. A Skylark was singing and many Meadow Brown butterflies were on the wing. The track went through a gap in the hedge and then followed the edge of a wood. Vervain, Pale Toadflax, Great Mullein, Perforated St John’s-wort and Common Restharrow were all found in the field margin. Amongst the trackside vegetation were several funnel webs and a large brown spider emerged from one of them. Treble Lines and Straw Dot moths were seen. The creaking call of a Tawny Owl chick came from the edge of the wood, but the vegetation was too dense to spot it. Then two Roe Deer ran across the field. By this time, the shadows had descended on the western side of the valley, but the east side was still bathed in evening light, so the decision was made to turn round and seek out the sunshine. Three Pyramidal Orchids which had been previously overlooked were spotted on the walk back.
Returning to the lane at the bottom of the valley, the group turned right for a short distance, then followed another footpath up the eastern side of the valley. The top edge of the field was still in sunshine and it proved to be a delightful stretch of fine chalk grassland habitat. There must have been several hundred Pyramidal Orchids, together with Common Spotted-orchids, Clustered Bellflower, Common Rock-rose and Common Bird’s-foot-trefoil. Marbled White butterflies were roosting in the grass. The footpath led into a strip of woodland, where a Muntjac Deer was disturbed. Continuing down the drive, a fox crossed the road ahead. The final section of the route followed a short stretch of the A329. A gateway on the right gave a view across the valley of the Thames to Hartslock, and surprisingly there were yet more Pyramidal Orchids beside the main road.
