Pete's Walks - Chess Valley Walk (part 3)
Back in the Chess Valley, I had my lunch sat on a stile. I then headed eastwards along the path through the Chess valley to Chenies Bottom.
The path along the Chess valley, heading southeast towards Chenies Bottom
The river Chess, at Chenies Bottom
The path continued along the valley, which soon turned southeast, carrying on to reach Sarratt Bottom, where I re-crossed the river and followed a path uphill back to my starting point at Chenies.
Path along the bottom of the Chess valley
Path along the bottom of the Chess valley
Path along the bottom of the Chess valley
Path along the bottom of the Chess valley (just past some commercial Watercress beds)
Looking back along the lane at Sarratt Bottom
Looking southeast along the river Chess, where I crossed it at Sarratt Bottom
Looking northwest along the river Chess, where I crossed it at Sarratt Bottom
Frogspawn in a branch of the river Chess at Sarratt Bottom
Willow trees by the river Chess at Sarratt Bottom
The path back from Sarratt Bottom to Chenies
Looking back across Sarratt Bottom
The path heading back into Chenies
I saw a Little Egret flying along the river, between Chenies Bottom and Sarratt Bottom - it was making quite a racket, the first time I’ve ever heard them make a noise. I’ve seen them in the Chess valley a couple of times before (and saw them regularly when I lived near the Suffolk coast). Otherwise I didn’t see too much in the way of birds, except for a Jay and Buzzards in several places. There were lots of Lesser Celandine out, and lots of Dog’s Mercury too, as well as a few Violets. I saw my first Peacock and Comma butterflies of the year, as well as one or two more Brimstones.