This winter has seemed (at least to me) like it was dragging on for ever. But the days are now perceptibly getting longer, and there are increasing signs of renewed life from vegetation.
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Jurassic Way, western end (Exmouth)
It’s a long beach at Exmouth, which means it’s also a long walk from arriving by public transport before getting to the cliffs where the Jurassic Coast section of the South West Coast Path starts. Lots of stunning views of the cliffs seen across the bay during that long walk.
The sculpture at cliff top level marks, I think, the official western end of the Jurassic Coast, and includes a timeline of the geological eras when the different cliffs were formed.
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Reds: scarlet elf cups
A splash of bright colour for late winter. Scarlet elf cups grow on dead wood. Because they are small, and often half-hidden in undergrowth they can be quite difficult to spot.
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Willow with lichens in winter
Holy Trinity churchyard, Stratford on Avon, directly by the river – the river is just about visible on the left, and the church spire rises up in the background.
There’s lots of mature trees in the churchyard. Like the gravestones, they support several different species of lichens, as seen here on the trunk of this twisted old willow.
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Waxy cup fungi on a sandbag
Cup fungi, possibly cellar cup fungi, growing on old sandbags which had been left in the corner of a garden. A species which likes damp places (including cellars).
Butterbur flowering at the very start of the year – indeed, it’s possible that the flowers started to open before the end of December. These are from a patch of the plant near the chain ferry, in Stratford on Avon.