A New Willow Wetland Walk in Sandown

Where there’s a willow there’s a way.  

Determination will overcome any obstacle says the saying and that’s certainly what Arc Consulting have done when they enlisted the help of the Community Payback Service to create the Willow Walk, Sandown Bay’s newest wetland walk.

Winding Woodland Walk

Rock Pools and Seaweed

As I went for a walk at sunrise this morning, my eye caught the sunlight shining on the seaweed that hung from the groin at low tide.  Fucus serratus or more commonly known as The Toothed Wrack, it is usually harvested for cosmetics or seaweed baths but can also be used to make tea or Japanese noodle soup. 

Another thing I discovered recently was the joy of rock pooling.  It was something I hadn't done since I was a child when we would visit the seaside for a day trip or our annual summer holiday.  I could spend hours staring ignorantly at the creatures and seaweed in the pools but with no book or expert to identify them for me, I remained totally ignorant until I found myself on a guided walk last weekend to Horse Ledge near Luccombe on the Isle of Wight, one of the best places on the island for rock pools.

Fucus serratus The Toothed Wrack Seaweed

Isle of Wight Walking Festival Dawn Chorus Walk

What do you do 6 days after International Dawn Chorus Day?

Well it seems you set your alarm for before dawn and head to a designated meeting point at 4.30am where a dozen or so other shadowy figures were loitering.  The purpose of this meet – A Dawn Chorus Walk led by Ian Boyd, bird song expert and part of the Bay Coastal Community Team,

As we started our walk, dawn was still asleep, but it wasn't long before the first birds started to sing.  Well before it became light, blackbirds, robins, thrushes and wrens began their melodies like a well rehearsed concerto which crescendoed as the light increased.