Lady Orchid

Next on the list, Lady Orchid, and a trip down into Kent to find it. An early start got us down close to Bonsai Bank before eight thirty. I say close to, as we then took the wrong footpath and ended up taking a bit of a tour around Denge Wood before we found the orchids. Lovely place, nice walk but we had lots of sites to visit that day and it wasn't the best of starts.

There were plenty of Early Purple Orchids around and a good few Lady Orchids coming into flower.

Lady Orchid

Floret from the orchid above

Unfortunately I will be the last person to see this flower. It was trampled by a dog running loose whilst I was in the middle of photographing it. There's a whole wood to walk the dogs in. Why bring them into the fenced off orchid area.

Lady Orchid

Our tour of the wood was actually of benefit. As well as working off a few extra calories we were still on site when the Duke of Burgundy butterflies started to appear. These are a late riser and we would probably have missed them without our delayed arrival. This was my first sighting of these butterflies for the year but it was also a reminder, that now is the time to look for them on the Sussex downs.

Duke of Burgundy

The temptation was to take more pictures of the Dukes but that would be mission drift against the day's targets and we would also risk damaging the site's rare flowers whilst pursuing the butterflies.

There was more to see at Bonsai but we needed to move on so we headed back to the car and made our way over to Yocklett's Bank. More Lady Orchids there plus some early Twayblades and we found a single Fly Orchid.

Lady Orchid

Common and Pink form but no Whites

Lady Orchid

Common Twayblade

Fly Orchid

Fly Orchid

Next stop Park Gate Down. A great site but this was more of a recce to find out where it was and where to park. The only orchids showing at the site were the Early Purple but it will be worth a visit later in the year.

Early Purple Orchid

Early Purple Orchid

The final destination for the day was Samphire Hoe. I had been there birding a few times but searching for orchids was a first for me. Actually it wasn't much of a search. The warden there is always very helpful, this time he pointed out the Early Spider Orchids in the middle of the car park. Not too far to walk, easy pictures and plenty of time for a cup of tea and a bacon roll before we headed for home.

Early Spider Orchid

Early Spider Orchid

Early Spider Orchid

We are going to need another visit to Kent in two or three weeks time to see a few of the later flowering Orchids. I guess I am getting towards the end of the easy orchid targets and with each one ticked off the challenge will get even harder.


It is perhaps worth recording our thanks to Kent Wildlife Trust and to all their volunteers. I always feel a twinge of guilt when I turn up, benefit from someone else's hard work, and then disappear without making any contribution. I console myself with the thought that Sussex Wildlife Trust benefits from my support instead!

Early Spider Orchid

I dabbled a bit with Orchid hunting last year but truth be told I have never really understood the obsessive nature of the orchid hunt. It's not like a bird, butterfly or other insect where you have to use field craft, it doesn't even move. Then today, I found myself laid out full length in the pouring rain, desperately trying to get a photograph before the wind and the rain flattened the specimen I had found. Perhaps I am beginning to understand!

Our first Orchid hunt of the year and I went home with three life ticks, Early Purple, Green-winged and Early Spider.

First stop was Lancing Ring for the Early Purple Orchids. We found a few specimens but this is a much used and abused site. A car park gives easy access and family picnics, children enjoying the area and dog walkers, have resulted in a worn and tired environment and certainly somewhere where you need to carry out a detailed inspection before you get face down on the ground to get a picture.

Next stop Anchor Bottom, a great place to visit, for most of the spring and summer, for flowers and butterflies. The Green-winged Orchids are on the north facing slope with hundreds of specimens visible. Just a pity we got caught in a cloud burst whilst we were viewing them.

Lots of purple and pink variants but we couldn't find any white.

Our last stop for the day was at Castle Hill Nature Reserve, one of the last remaining fragments of chalk downland and probably the best site in the country for the Early Spider Orchid.  Natural England reports 50,000 plants at this site, we didn't count them. There were certainly a lot visible but don't get the impression that they are easy to find. This is a small flower spike and a dull flower and is restricted to a small part of the reserve. Look for the pale green stems rather than the flower. Once you locate the right area and get your "eye in" they are all around you.

We also found Early Purple Orchids towards the top of the slopes. This was a very exposed site compared to the more sheltered Lancing Ring area and it showed in stunted growth and generally weathered specimens. However, find a fresh growth or sheltered spot and there were some delightful orchids waiting to be photographed.

The challenge of the orchid hunt is not so much in the finding of the plant on the day as in the research in working out when and where to look. I think I might be adding a few more to the list this year.