IMAGES TAKEN NEAR TO
Hathaway Close, SALISBURY, SP1 3JT

On Stratford Road.

Towards Salisbury.

This path and cycleway runs from Salisbury city centre to Stratford sub Castle, it is also part of National Cycle Network route 45- the Golden Way. The gate on the left is the entrance to some council owned allotments.

This lovely butterfly was sunning itself amongst the leaf litter on the edge of the path from Stratford sub Castle to Salisbury. The Speckled Wood butterfly (Pararge aegeria) is very common across Britain and Europe. Its preferred habitats are woodland edges and rides, or anywhere with plenty of shade. They fly from March to October and usually produce a single batch of eggs in the north of Britain with up to three broods further south. They like to feed mainly on honeydew, a secretion produced by aphids that feed on tree sap, but they will also drink nectar from the blossoms of brambles and will often visit ragwort later on in the year. It is thought that the Speckled Wood population is on the increase in Britain with new forestry plantations coming to maturity and producing the shade that these butterflies require.

Looking along the path and cycleway that runs from Stratford sub Castle to Salisbury city centre, a very pleasant way to avoid the busy streets. It is also part of the National Cycle Network route 45, the Golden Way.

Just before I clicked the shutter, a tiny mammal raced across the path ahead, doubtless disturbed by a group of children gathering for an activity a few metres to the left. The nature reserve is easily accessible from the centre of Salisbury.

A little oddly, this is a public footpath followed by NCN cyclepath 45, but it has obviously been designated as "dual use". NCN45 takes a prodigious cross-country route from Chester to Salisbury. Here it passes a paddock as it approaches Stratford Road. The houses are on Castle Keep (the name of a modern close).