Collard Hill
Ant Hills – Collard Hill, Nr Street, Somerset, UK. ID JB1_4758
Collard Hill
Each June I visit Collard Hill near Street in Somerset. This year with the pandemic still raging things felt a bit different. But in this landscape social distancing is easy.
The grassland ridge has beautiful views and is famous as one of the best places to see our rarest species of butterfly.
Lady’s bedstraw (Galium verum) – Collard Hill, Somerset, UK. ID JB1_4794
Today there were lots of yellow lady’s bedstraw, and delicate rock rose is always a delight to see.
Common rock-rose (Helianthemum nummularium) – Collard Hill, Nr Street, Somerset, UK. ID JB1_4763
Ant hills cover the landscape. Many covered in wild thyme.
Ant Hills – Collard Hill, Nr Street, Somerset, UK. ID JB1_4749
Not the butterfly I came to see but still a joy to photograph.
Small Tortoiseshell (Aglais urticae) – Collard Hill, Somerset, UK. ID JB1_4902
And finally…
Of course, most people come to the hill in June to catch a glimpse of the large blue butterflies.
Large Blue (Maculinea arion) – Collard Hill, Somerset, UK. ID 825_2158
The National Trust do a great job of managing the site and supporting visitors. They say that more than one thousand people visit the site during the large blue season, and virtually everyone gets to see the butterfly!
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