Gait Barrows reserve - dark-red helleborines and high brown fritillaries.

Not the perfect day for photography, but with a better forecast for south Cumbria than north Cumbria we headed to Gait Barrows in hope of helleborines and fritillaries. We found both ; the dark-red helleborines now just past their best and the broad-leaved in bud. We saw several, what we presume to be high brown fritillaries, being blown at high speed through the canopy and one rather tatty specimen on the ground. Lovely limestone pavement and lots of rockrose and thyme.

Limestone pavement.

Gatekeeper, high brown fritillary and grayling butterflies ; damselfly and darter. 

Hart's tongue fern; dark-red helleborines; herb robert; rose of sharon and maiden hair spleenwort.