Devon Lanes in Summer

Logs make for an interesting symmetry, and incredible patterns in their varying state of decay

A so called 'monkey puzzle' tree. Because it looks like a puzzle .. for monkeys. The splines are sharp and thorny, it looks interesting yet is not good to the touch! In the UK these only grow in the milder climate of the Southwest ...

The hundreds of years old Buckfast Abbey. Home of the Bendict monks, who also make the famous alcoholic drink, Buckfast Abbey wine (as featured in the movie Trainspotting)

You might need this if you drink too much Buckfast wine. It's an old red phone box now repurposed to a public defibrillator. Very nice idea.

Gates to a farmer's field off the lanes opens in to a field of wild grasses

Summer is in full bloom, and there are many interesting and pretty species to found wondering down the lanes ...

Almost looks like an orchid ... another wild flower

Public walking lanes, I can almost smell the fresh air and all the greenage around this time of year. Might be a bit of pollen about, hayfever sufferers should be aware.

A piece of corn / wheat has gone feral and is growing wild out of the hedgerow. These tall hedges were built centuries ago to border the fields and create both drainage channels and pathways for carts between the farmlands. Today, they are the Devon lanes

'Devon Daisies' we like to call these, even if it's not technically the right term :)

A walk in the countryside around my hometime. Through the grounds of Buckfast Abbey, and up into the fields. Here's a few of the things you can expect to find on a nice summer day! More in the picture captions.

Devonshire is the region I grew up in the UK, and has the mildest climate of the entire island. The summer brings 'sub-tropical' conditions, enabling things like the monkey puzzle to live here. Buckfast and Buckfastleigh are adjacent small towns, mid-way inland from the 'English Riveria' of Torbay and the Dartmoor National Park. Being such a special part of the world to me, I like to feature it here on my blog now and again : )

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