The unsettled weather of July continued into the first half of August with measurable rainfall on 11 days up to 18^th but then hardly any for the rest of the month. This meant that the dune flora recovered somewhat from the severe early summer drought, this being reflected in a fantastic display of Grass-of-Parnassus, especially on the New Green Beach north of Ainsdale-on-Sea. Even I baulked at trying to count them but there were certainly tens of thousands in what is probably the largest British population of this nationally declining plant. Thousands more were at the Devil’s Hole, though this colony was down on the numbers present a few years ago.

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July is usually a great month for wildlife along the coast and this one was no exception, though the early season meant things were already looking rather autumnal by the month’s end. The Devil’s Hole blowout at Ravenmeols is a must in high summer, treats on 1^st including the first flowering Grass-of-Parnassus and thousands of Marsh Helleborines. Shocking pink Pyramidal Orchids lined the dune ridges to the west. As usual, Northern Dune Tiger Beetles scurried about on the bare sand slopes, while two spectacular Dark Green Fritillaries and a Spiked Shield-bug added further interest.

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