Photos from walk on Thursday 21st March from Compton to Aldworth via the Roden Downs

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We’ve done this walk before – I wonder if it’s anything to do with The Bell.

• 21st December 2023 with some details about the church
• 10th November 2022
• 24th March 2022 with details of Roden Park, the “posh” house.

 

The “posh” house now has gates.

 

I think I under-valued it in conversation today. I’ve now seen guideprices between £9M and £15M, and one source quotes an actual sale price of £11,430,000 on 27th Feb 2023.

 

The Ridgeway was busy with beetles, at least three seen trying to cross the road. It’s a Bloody-nosed beetle, Timarcha tenebricosa

 

The Bloody-nosed beetle is a large, round, flightless beetle with long legs that can often be seen plodding across paths or through grass. It can be found during the spring and summer in grassland, heathland and along hedgerows. One of our largest ‘leaf beetles’, adults feed on the leaves of Lady’s Bedstraw and related plants, and the larvae can be seen hanging from these species. Adults are mostly active at night.

 

The Bloody-nosed beetle is so-named because, when threatened, it oozes a red liquid from its face. This ‘blood’ is distasteful and scares-off would-be predators.

 

The Bloody-nosed beetle is a domed, black beetle with a bluish sheen. The line running down its back gives the impression of separate wing cases, but they are actually fused together and this beetle does not fly; it is quite slow moving, in fact. [source]

 

View of Lowbury Hill (Grey and cloudy in the morning)

 

The pub door

 

St Mary’s Aldworth with 2000 year old yew.

 

St. Mary’s again, from further away, up the lane.

 

I saw these only the once, by the roadside. Wood Anemones, Anemone nemorosa

 

But there was lots of blackthorn blossom (Prunus spinosa, aka sloe)

 

 

Back in Compton, the River Pang was somewhat full

 

The footpath was underwater

 

And the path by Compton Sewage Farm  was  impassable.

 

Good to see some honesty from Thames Water

 

St Mary & St Nicholas Church, Compton. The church has flint walls with stone tracery around the windows, doors and buttresses. The tower dates from the 13th century and the remainder from the 19th and 20th centuries. The church is Grade II* listed

 

Driving home, the twin trees at Bury Down

 

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