West Bay or Broadchurch for killer views

East Cliff, West Bay, Dorset

As we were leaving Bridport in Dorset I persuaded the husband to take me down to nearby West Bay, in the hope of snapping a good picture of that amazing Jurassic cliff that featured in the ITV crime series Broadchurch, first aired in 2013.

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Snapshots of Bridport

Golden sign above the Bull Hotel in Bridport, Dorset

I am always looking for new places to visit in Dorset and I had never even thought of Bridport until I noticed it in the postings of fellow blogger Sarah, who lives near there (see Down by the Sea).

So about a month ago, just after the schools had gone back after summer, we went there for a few hours – and were very impressed. It’s such a friendly place, and the streets are clean and full of quirky little shops – it was also very easy to find somewhere to park.

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Cormorant on the riverbank

Cormorant on the River Taff in Cardiff, October 2015

I often fail in my attempts to capture an image of a cormorant or its close relative the shag, but this time the bird was very placid as I watched from the opposite side of the river. In fact looking at the picture I think its tail feathers might be broken. So I am guessing it’s either an old injured bird or a young one not quite fledged. Adults have white patches on their throats and thighs during the breeding season, but it’s not the breeding season, so that doesn’t help.

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2015 tree following 9: Not to be confused…

I saw this outside the shop at the National Trust’s Dyffryn Gardens and thought it was a Paulownia, but it wasn’t – read on to find out what it was…

At first sight the empress tree (Paulownia tomentosa) I am following in Cardiff’s Bute Park looked just the same as last month, so I let myself wander a bit.

Another tree nearby had been bugging me, as it also looked like a Paulownia and I really wanted my empress to be unique in this vicinity.

But first an October catch-up with the empress herself.

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Tiny ruby roses of autumn

New shoots of willowherb among the roots

I eventually decided to pull up the willowherb and enchanter’s nightshade that were seeding all over the gravel bed in the garden and was taken by the tiny red growth starting among the exposed roots of the willowherb, like little ruby roses.

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