Far From the Madding Crowd

After a slightly fraught day on Friday involving, well, let's just say some caravans, a car park and the Dorset constabulary, the eminent Dr Sterling and I felt the need to seek out some tranquillity, so we left the bustling metropolis of Casterbridge and treated ourselves to a post-work field trip to Cerne Giant Hill. A bit of a flying visit before Phil caught his finger badly on some barbed wire and had to be virtually airlifted back home to Weymouth, but we caught up with two of the site's star attractions before his blood runneth over: the Duke of Burgundy and the Marsh Fritillary. The less celebrated and more modestly named Grizzled and Dingy Skipper were also on the wing. Despite being one of the best butterfly sites in Wessex, we had the place to ourselves for the time we were there. Lacerated digits aside, it was just what the Doctor ordered.

Marsh Fritillary

Marsh Fritillary

Duke of Burgundy

Duke of Burgundy

Duke of Burgundy

Duke of Burgundy

Duke of Burgundy

Dingy Skipper

Grizzled Skipper