Tag Archives: Catcott Lows

Catcott Lows, March 2026

14 Saturday Mar 2026

Posted by in Countryside views, Photography, Wildlife

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Having been invited by the Somerset Wildlife Trust to visit their Catcott Lows hide on the Avalon Marshes towards the end of last year, I recently received, along with others who had responded to a recent appeal, a further invitation, and spent the best part of an hour there a couple of days ago, in the expert company of the man on this linked video. There was the most horrendous gale all the time, as some of these photos will show, and at one point there was driving, almost sideways, rain. However, given the wind direction, we were snug as bugs in a rug, despite the open viewing windows, though were almost deafened by the shifting roofing, which fortunately stayed in place throughout our visit. (Part of the appeal is to replace this ageing hide with a new and considerably larger one.)

The light was not the best, but here is an impression of what we could see. A few general views to begin with. Grasses which should be upright, and birds facing into the wind, which will give them lift if they choose to fly off. (And I imagine they also prefer not to have the wind – how can I put this delicately? – not ruffling their tail feathers.)

Glastonbury Tor disappeared from time to time.

A glossy ibis, or rather the glossy ibis, came into view. It is thought to be a juvenile, and has been hanging around for a few weeks. There is a group of them in the Weymouth area, and this one will probably join it before long.

Canada geese

The vast majority of ducks to be seen were Wigeon.

Shoveler duck in foreground
The Glossy ibis moved onto an islet
Tufted ducks
Shoveler again

The light improved briefly, and the wind dropped somewhat.

Lapwing

It was not easy to get a picture of the teal. It seemed that they were constantly doing this.

The best I could do.

A very distant marsh harrier kept low, dropping even lower into the long grass from time to time. Here it was battling the driving rain.

It was time to go, and let the next group take our places. Strangely, no-one took up the suggestion of a walk in the reserve. But we all agreed that it had been a fine way to spend a Thursday morning.

Two very different outings

18 Friday Aug 2023

Posted by in Countryside views, History, Industrial archeology, Photography, Wildlife

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Just a few photos from a couple of places I visited last week, each of them in a sense just a recce for a return visit.

Although I’ve lived in Somerset for 12 years, and I’ve been to its county town, Taunton, a few times – for museum and talks, hospital, phone shop, the odd meeting… – I’ve never got to explore its history. So the other morning I went on one of five volunteer-led ‘town tours’ offered by the South West Heritage Trust, this one entitled ‘Society and Architecture’. Just a stone’s throw from Taunton’s museum-in-a-castle, I was introduced to some really interesting buildings and history, to which I must return – and I’m not referring to Judge Jeffreys and the Bloody Assizes, which is no doubt covered in one of the other tours.

Moving around with and having to keep up with a group of 15 did not make for well-judged photos, but here are just a few, and I shall hope to improve on them in months and years to come.

Castle Hotel
Now known as the Municipal Buildings, and still used for weddings and suchlike, parts of this building dates back to 1480 when it was founded, and remained for centuries, Taunton’s grammar school. This is the back. Later in the day, I discovered that where I had been waiting for my Park and Ride bus to the out-of-town car park on on several previous occasions was the front of this same building.
Mitre House
Taken just because it reminded me of one I had taken on the Caledonian Canal a few weeks previously.
A misleadingly small corner of the Quaker Meeting House, built and much restored and modernised on land gifted to the Quakers in the 17th century for 2000 years. So they are safe for a bit yet.
Side of the library building opened in 1905, funded in part by the Carnegie Foundation. In 1996 it was converted into a public house, which, according to leaflet I obtained later from the Taunton Visitor Centre, ‘raised some eyebrows, due to a covenant applied by the … Foundation, that alcohol must not be consumed on the premises!’
Cider Mill, offered to the town by the Taunton Cider Company in 1971, to celebrate its 50th anniversary. The company has had a chequered history since, but the brand still exists.
Splendid copper beech outside the museum-in-the-castle
Modern architecture was not overlooked on the tour, as a attested by this art deco former Gaumont cinema, currently leased to Mecca Bingo by the local council which bought it back from the Rank Group, who had owned it since the 1980s, in 2019. There is a movement, Project Gaumont, to reclaim the building for use as a cultural venue. Its very decorative inside has been completely restored by Mecca, as we were shown in a photo. I wonder if it is possible to take a peek without having to attend a bingo session…

After the walk, and taking lunch in the museum-in-the-castle’s cafe, I visited the Taunton tourist office from which I was able to obtain some more pointers for future exploration.

The following day, I went to Catcott Lows, one of the many nature reserves on the Avalon Marshes/Somerset Levels and Moors, this one run by the Somerset Wildlife Trust. Somehow I had not visited this before either. Late afternoon in August is not the best time for sightings, but I now know my way around the reserve, and how to get to the hides, none of which – deliberately I’m sure – are just a couple of minutes’ walk from car parking facilities.

It was pleasant walk.

Touching parent and child moorhen moment
A cygnet which…
… turned out to be from a family of four
Male Brimstone butterfly

This turns out to be perhaps my favourite photo of the day. There, it was a perfectly normal two-dimensional board. In the photo, to my eyes anyway, it definitely looks 3D!

[This post was almost complete 48 hours ago, but I managed to lose all but about 10% of it just before pressing ‘Publish’. I was out all day yesterday, (hopefully the subject of my next post) so only now have I been able to reconstruct it.]