A Botanical Journey mostly from Kent & SE England

The adventure continues...... This day we went to Snowdonia and in the late afternoon we explored Penmon Point on Anglesey. As Part 2 also covers Snowdonia, I'll write about Penmon first. Penmon Point is on the extreme North Easterly point of Anglesey with a lighthouse, a fine view to Puffin Island and the Great Orme beyond. We even saw a Porpoise running the tide close to the lighthouse. There's plenty to see! You park near the lighthouse and on the grassy cliffs was a profusion of Pyramidal Orchids.  Surprisingly, I didn't see that many of them on the island. Anacamptis pyramidalis The coastal turf was species rich, helped along by species such as Eyebright which weaken grasses, allowing other species a chance to grow. Euphrasia agg The next plant was actually growing on the shingle beach above the high tide mark. They are White Stonecrop, a species very common in Kent. However, it's not often I can get a decent

A visit to South Stack on Holy Island is a must when on Anglesey. It's a beautiful area with dramatic scenery and views. This is the view South East from above the RSPB car park with Snowdonia in the far distance. In botany, the area is famous for South Stack Fleawort, only found here in the whole world. However, I  might be too late to find any flowering now. We arrived in the morning to give us time to also look for Spotted Rockrose, the County flower of Anglesey. So we parked in the car park and headed off up the coastal cliff path to see what we could find. The whole area was dotted with wildflowers but Sheep's Bit caught my eye. Being blue it stands out from the usual yellows and it would also be a great find in Kent where its rare. However, in the West of Britain it is a common plant. I do like them though. Jasione montana I started scouring the cliff edge areas (being sensible about it though) for the Fleawort. Again, the views were fantastic, this time dow