April 2003

Much of the month was dry and sunny, ideal for exploring the many lanes, drove roads and bridleways. Here at East Morden, en-route from Sturminster Marshall to Puddletown Forest
On the Purbeck coast Blackthorn (Prunus spinosa) comes into flower, its stout thorns a hazard to the unwary walker
The last rays of the sun brush the almost mirror flat sea in Studland Bay, taken on a warm evening stroll along the shoreline
Looking across the marshes at Arne towards Corfe Castle, deer grazing in the evening light
The long period of dry weather is however not good news for everyone – parched fields on the chalk near Cranborne