Two beautiful downland walks - Eastbourne group in June

admin
, 07 July 2025
Two beautiful downland walks - Eastbourne group in June
Yellowhammer © Simon Linington

David Beer

Cradle Valley Wednesday 18 June

On a warm and sunny morning, we met our guides Chris Brewer and Dave Burton at the High and Over car park for our annual trip to Cradle Valley. With fine views over to the sea and Friston Forest, we set off hoping to see orchids, butterflies and downland birds. We were not disappointed. We saw fine specimens of Common Twayblade, Fragrant Orchid, Bee Orchid, Burnt Orchid, Common Spotted Orchid and Pyramidal Orchid. 

As the morning warmed up more butterflies became active. There were excellent views of Marbled Whites, Small Skippers and Common Blues. Blackcaps, Chiffchaffs, Whitethroats and Song Thrushes were in good voice but the avian highlight for most of us was a fine Yellowhammer singing from the top of a Hawthorn bush. Thanks to Chris and David for sharing their excellent local knowledge and botanical expertise.

Round-headed Rampion © Arthur Hoare

Butts Brow Thursday 3 July

Butts Brow provides panoramic views all year round but on a warm, sunny and clear morning Dungeness power station stood crystal clear on the horizon. Hawker Dragonflies and the odd Swallow were flying over the grassland adjacent to the car park as we set off on a short walk to the superb chalk grassland above Tas Combe. Large numbers of Pyramidal Orchids, Knapweed, Scabious and Round-headed Rampions provided vivid colour to the grassland. Old ant hills provided the ideal habitat for Wild Thyme. We enjoyed good sightings of numerous butterflies including: Marbled Whites, Gatekeepers, Small Coppers, Skippers, Meadow Browns, Painted Ladies, Peacocks and Commas. The flowers of the Knapweed and Scabious proved irresistible to Six-spot Burnet Moths. A stunning Forester Moth and a very active Hummingbird Hawkmoth were notable additions to our list of insects. 

It was an excellent morning enjoying the rich biodiversity of chalk grassland.

Find out more about the group & how to join here 

Leave a comment
Time Δ Debug Message - Perch Runway 3.2
1782571757.50880 [906] SELECT p.pagePath, pr.routePattern, pr.routeRegExp, p.pageTemplate, pr.routeOrder, s.settingValue AS siteOffline FROM swt_pages_staging p LEFT JOIN swt_page_routes pr ON p.pageID=pr.pageID LEFT JOIN swt_settings s ON s.settingID='siteOffline' UNION SELECT NULL AS pagePath, pr2.routePattern, pr2.routeRegExp, pr2.templatePath AS pageTemplate, pr2.routeOrder, NULL AS siteOffline FROM swt_page_routes pr2 WHERE templateID!=0 ORDER BY routeOrder ASC, pagePath ASC
1782571757.55020.0414Matched route: news/[slug:s]
1782571757.55040.0001Server address: 216.73.216.31
1782571757.55040Using master page: /templates/pages/blog/post.php
1782571757.55040Page arguments: 
Array
(
    [0] => /news/two-beautiful-downland-walks-eastbourne-group-in-june
    [s] => two-beautiful-downland-walks-eastbourne-group-in-june
    [1] => two-beautiful-downland-walks-eastbourne-group-in-june
)
1782571757.55080.0003 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1782571757.55180.0011 [86] SELECT DISTINCT settingID, settingValue FROM swt_settings WHERE userID=0
1782571757.55360.0018 [1] SELECT locationID FROM swt_shop_tax_locations WHERE locationIsHome=1 LIMIT 1
1782571757.55420.0005INSERT INTO swt_shop_cart(memberID,locationID,currencyID,cartPricing,cartProperties) VALUES(NULL,'1',47,'standard','[]')
1782571757.55610.0019 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_shop_cart WHERE cartID=22352346
1782571757.55670.0006 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_shop_cart WHERE cartID=22352346
1782571757.55730.0006 [nil] SELECT * FROM swt_shop_sales WHERE saleFrom<='2026-06-27 14:49:00' AND saleTo>'2026-06-27 14:49:00' AND saleActive=1 AND saleDeleted IS NULL ORDER BY saleOrder ASC
1782571757.55880.0015 [1] SELECT SQL_CALC_FOUND_ROWS DISTINCT tbl.* FROM ( SELECT idx.itemID, main.*, idx2.indexValue as sortval FROM swt_blog_index idx JOIN swt_blog_posts main ON idx.itemID=main.postID AND idx.itemKey='postID' JOIN swt_blog_index idx2 ON idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey='postID' AND idx2.indexKey='_id' WHERE 1=1 AND ((idx.indexKey='postSlug' AND idx.indexValue='two-beautiful-downland-walks-eastbourne-group-in-june')) AND idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey=idx2.itemKey GROUP BY idx.itemID, idx2.indexValue, postID ) as tbl WHERE (postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-06-27 14:49:00' ) GROUP BY itemID, sortval ORDER BY sortval ASC LIMIT 0, 10
1782571757.56110.0023 [1] SELECT FOUND_ROWS() AS `count`
1782571757.56160.0005 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_posts WHERE postID=3734 AND postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-06-27 14:49:00'
1782571757.56240.0008 [13] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_sections ORDER BY sectionTitle ASC
1782571757.56310.0007 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blogs ORDER BY blogTitle ASC
1782571757.56380.0006 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_categories WHERE catID=73 LIMIT 1
1782571757.56420.0004 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_categories WHERE catID=36 LIMIT 1
1782571757.56460.0004 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_categories WHERE catID=204 LIMIT 1
1782571757.56520.0006Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1782571757.56540.0002 [162] SELECT catID, catPath FROM swt_categories
1782571757.56630.0008 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_posts WHERE postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-06-27 14:49:00' AND postSlug='two-beautiful-downland-walks-eastbourne-group-in-june'
1782571757.63460.0683Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1782571757.63520.0006 [250] SELECT country, countryID FROM swt_shop_countries WHERE countryActive=1 ORDER BY country ASC
1782571757.6370.0018Using template: /templates/pages/attributes/seo.html
1782571757.63730.0003 [1] SELECT regionID, regionTemplate, regionPage, regionRev AS rev FROM swt_content_regions WHERE regionKey='Banner image' AND (regionPage='/news/post' OR regionPage='*')
1782571757.64250.0052 [nil] SELECT * FROM ( SELECT idx.itemID, c.regionID, idx.pageID, c.itemJSON, idx2.indexValue as sortval FROM swt_content_index idx JOIN swt_content_items c ON idx.itemID=c.itemID AND idx.itemRev=c.itemRev AND idx.regionID=c.regionID JOIN swt_content_index idx2 ON idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemRev=idx2.itemRev AND idx2.indexKey='_order' WHERE ((idx.regionID=104 AND idx.itemRev=0)) AND idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemRev=idx2.itemRev ) as tbl GROUP BY itemID, pageID, itemJSON, sortval, regionID ORDER BY sortval ASC
1782571757.64420.0017 [82] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageDepth >=0 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1782571757.6470.0029 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1782571757.64760.0006 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1782571757.64960.002Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template.html
1782571757.64970 [6] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1782571757.65060.0009 [4] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1782571757.6510.0005 [29] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1782571757.65440.0033 [10] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1782571757.65540.0011 [7] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1782571757.65620.0008 [9] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1782571757.65950.0033 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' OR pageSortPath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1782571757.66030.0008 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageHidden=0 AND pageNew=0 AND pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition
1782571757.66240.0021 [1] Using template: /templates/navigation/breadcrumbs.html
1782571757.66280.0004Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1782571757.66310.0002 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_authors WHERE authorID='1' LIMIT 1
1782571757.66380.0007Using template: /templates/blog/author.html
1782571757.66430.0005 [1] SELECT SQL_CALC_FOUND_ROWS DISTINCT tbl.* FROM ( SELECT idx.itemID, main.*, idx2.indexValue as sortval FROM swt_blog_index idx JOIN swt_blog_posts main ON idx.itemID=main.postID AND idx.itemKey='postID' JOIN swt_blog_index idx2 ON idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey='postID' AND idx2.indexKey='_id' WHERE 1=1 AND ((idx.indexKey='postSlug' AND idx.indexValue='two-beautiful-downland-walks-eastbourne-group-in-june')) AND idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey=idx2.itemKey GROUP BY idx.itemID, idx2.indexValue, postID ) as tbl WHERE (postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-06-27 14:49:00' ) GROUP BY itemID, sortval ORDER BY sortval ASC LIMIT 0, 1
1782571757.66610.0019 [1] SELECT FOUND_ROWS() AS `count`
1782571757.66660.0005 [1] Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1782571757.67020.0036Using template: /templates/blog/comment_form.html
1782571757.67130.0011 [nil] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_comments WHERE 1=1 AND postID=3734 AND commentStatus='LIVE' ORDER BY FIELD(webmentionType, 'like', 'repost', 'comment', NULL) ASC, commentDateTime ASC
1782571757.78550.1142 [0] Using template: /templates/blog/comment.html
1782571757.78570.0002Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1782571757.7860.0004 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_authors WHERE authorID='1' LIMIT 1
1782571757.78670.0007 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/what-we-do' OR pageSortPath='/what-we-do' LIMIT 1
1782571757.78740.0007 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-002' LIMIT 1
1782571757.78790.0005 [7] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-002%' AND pageDepth >=1 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1782571757.79020.0022 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1782571757.79060.0005 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1782571757.79240.0018 [6] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1782571757.79360.0012 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/make-a-difference' OR pageSortPath='/make-a-difference' LIMIT 1
1782571757.79410.0005 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-005' LIMIT 1
1782571757.79450.0004 [38] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-005%' ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1782571757.79690.0024 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1782571757.79740.0005 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1782571757.80050.0031 [10] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1782571757.80410.0035 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/visit' OR pageSortPath='/visit' LIMIT 1
1782571757.80470.0007 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-004' LIMIT 1
1782571757.80510.0004 [30] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-004%' AND pageDepth >=1 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1782571757.80720.0021 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1782571757.80770.0005 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1782571757.80950.0018 [29] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1782571757.81250.003 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/make-a-difference' OR pageSortPath='/make-a-difference' LIMIT 1
1782571757.81310.0006 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-005' LIMIT 1
1782571757.81360.0005 [11] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-005%' AND pageDepth >=1 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1782571757.81560.002 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1782571757.81610.0005 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1782571757.81790.0019 [10] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1782571757.81950.0015Request time: 0.3143
1782571757.81950Process time: 0.3141
1782571757.81950Memory: 1.6221