What a
fabulous day today. The forecast was for
showers in the afternoon, but it stayed hot and sunny all day with only the
briefest rumble of thunder and shower in the early evening. We were thwarted on the eating front,
however. We had planned a BBQ but, it
being Monday the local supermarket was closed so we couldn’t get provisions and
then half the restaurants were closed as well!!!! We had a fairly early start and drove up into
the Combau Valley stopping to photograph
views and flowers on the way up. The
Combau is like a secret valley off the main valley leading up to the Col de
Menee. It rises steeply at first, before
flattening out to a high, wide valley full of flower strewn alpine
meadows. The flowers were numerous – it was
like been a little boy let loose in a sweet shop, which to photograph
next. Our list of plants now numbers
well over a hundred. Once parked at the
road head, Heather and Linda walked up the main track to a mountain hut and
then up to a knife-edged col overlooking the Ecrins Mountains in the true Alps
and Mont Aguille nearer to us. Peter and
I scrambled up steeply sloping meadows straight to the precipitous ridge. On the way we heard deer barking in the woods
and found evidence of where wild boar (presumably) had been grubbing up the
ground. Flowers were numerous and
butterflies plentiful. Once up to the
ridge we followed it to the col where Heather and Linda had climbed before
heading down to the hut and joining up with them. We were delighted with the large numbers of
poet’s narcissus and wild tulips, this time in full flower. On the way down we passed a high valley farm,
evidence of the transhumance that is still practised here. We also met a group of walkers with their
equipment carried by donkey. I found
clouded Apollo and grizzled and dingy skipper butterflies. Back at the site it was a pleasure to listen
to nuthatches and serrins and see redstart flitting around. The lizard orchid at the back of the tent is
still to come into flower. For our meal
we did manage to find a lovely restaurant open that Heather and I had frequented
on our last visit here. A smashing end
to a great day.
To view large, please click on an image
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| Southern Early Purple Orchid |
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| Southern Early Purple Orchid |
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| Poet's Narcissus |
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| Globe Flower |
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| Clouded Apollo |
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| Poet's Narcissus |
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| Elderflower Orchid |
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| Wild Tulip |
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| Dingy Skipper |
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| Grizzled Skipper |
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