Following 5.5mm of rain overnight, water drips down from the trees and the ground is no longer dusty underfoot. This morning Durlston sits within a low misty cloud, with visibility barely reaching between the Castle and the closest car park.
I arrive at the park listening to the slow melodic tunes of a Blackbird singing from the Reservoir Copse. Blue Tits appear to chirp from every direction, with young fledgling birds following the parent birds for food.
The wonderful sweet-scented bloom of Mock Orange fills my nostrils as I step towards the woods. Some wind overnight has left a fresh scattering of Holm Oak leaves strewn across the woodland floor. A Chiffchaff sings its two-tone verses from high up in an Ash Tree, and two Chaffinch follow one another as disappear into the canopy.
The view from the coast path is a wall of white, but I can hear waves from somewhere below the mist. More bird song fills the air as I reach the Castle, with Wrens, Blackcap, and Great Tit chiming into the morning chorus, and a flock of Jackdaw squark as they loop in flight around the Belvedere.
I stop by the Dell to take a photo of the brilliant Mock Orange blossom and almost stand on a large Black Slug sliding through the damp leaf mulch. I also enjoy spotting the flowering Hydrangea and Deutzia between the towering Wood Sorrel; which is covered in adventurous Snails.
At Caravan Terrace yet more Wren and Blackcap to be heard, and a family of Great Tits busy themselves in flight along the quarried rock face. Huge swathes of Willowherb are about to burst into flower with cheery Red Valerian snuggled in between.
On the seaward side of this ledge, many fresh sprigs of Toadflax poke up between the Marjoram, Hedge Woundwort and Dogwood. One of these sprigs has bloomed, displaying its fantastic two-tone yellow snapdragon flower. At this point I decide to check my legs and find a pesky Tick crawling on my knee – my bad for wearing shorts whilst exploring the vegetation!