South by South West

The latest stage of our holidays around the British coast took us from the New Forest in Hampshire to St Ive's in Cornwall. Last year's trip down the east and across part of the south coast was a birding bonanza, taking in hotspots such as the Farne Islands, Bempton Cliffs, Titchwell, Minsmere and Dungeoness.

This year, for whatever reason, we managed to miss out on most of the birdlife, but enjoyed our holiday nevertheless. There were some birding highlights however - Redstart in the New Forest, Sand Martin and Little Egret at Poole Harbour, a brief glimpse of Pied Flycatcher in Yarner Wood, Devon, and plenty of Wheatear on nearby Dartmoor.



These Swallows on our Devon campsite were also wonderful to watch, swooping low around the tent and perching on a nearby farm gate.