Snow above the Teme – Wood Ant Seedlings – Ponds in Kyre – First Frogspawn – First Bumblebees
Mostly a small collection of phone photos for this week. It has definitely felt spring-like, with the arrival of the frogspawn and seeing bees and wood ants emerging. Roll on spring!
A slightly different taste this week, as we were in Andalucía, chasing sunshine. It always amazes me how much there is to see in Spain in February. I’ve tried to distil our trip into a series of galleries, roughly for each day or place. For a more in-depth look at the botanical finds from the trip, see This Week in Plants (7) – Bonus Spanish Edition
We arrived in the dark on Tuesday 10th of February. After waking to a beautiful view of Pico Castellejos, we headed for our first hike of the trip. We passed the famous ‘Skull Rock’ near El Chorro, before setting off on the Sendero Escalera Árabe SL-A 207, accompanied by Iberian Ibex, Griffon Vultures and Peregrine Falcons!
Sendero Escalera Árabe SL-A 207, El Chorro, Malaga Province. This is an easy, alternative 3.7km loop near the famous Caminito del Rey (and it doesn’t require booking, unlike Caminito del Rey). 11.02.26.
Álora is a small, whitewashed town, or ‘Pueblo blanco’, situated along the Guadalhorce River, north of Coín. It has a distinctively local feel. Álora is home to a castle (Castillo de las Torres), which was built in the 9th century by the Moorish state of Córdoba. 11.02.26.
12.02.26
Parking at the start of the Sendero Camino de la Fuente. We took a circular route through the pinewoods, which were tantalisingly located only 15 minutes south of our apartment in clear view (Below).
We followed the SL-A 59 Nacimiento – Cerro Alaminos and saw a suite of species we have become quite familiar with over the past few years. For more information on the botanical finds from this area, see This Week in Plants (7) – Bonus Spanish Edition. 13.02.26
Before flying back, we headed to Frigiliana, which the Rough Guide for Andalucía describes as ‘a pretty Moorish hill village clinging to the lower slopes Monte El Fuerte’. It didn’t disappoint and had that distinctive Mediterranean feel. And doors, so many beautiful doors! 14.02.26.
Everybody that has been on a walk with me will have witnessed this moment.
The moment I drop to the ground, making excited noises. Because yes, I’ve spotted yet another ‘cool plant’.
From the limestone cliffs of El Chorro, to the pine forests and matorral scrublands of Sierra Negra. Here are ten finds from my February trip to the Málaga Province.
For more photos from my recent trip, see ‘This Week in Photos’ (link to be added).
About
These photos were taken between the 10th to the 14th of February, 2026. Whilst staying at Prolongacion Calle Los Olivos, Coín.
Pendulous Birch – Snow drips – First Primrose – The underworld – Mist at Mount Pleasant – Angels & Spires – Wet hams
Peeking periwinkle – Sandstone pick marks – a Stoic tree – Ivy berries – Old rocks with a view – Cliff plants
Gorse – English Longhorns – Utility Sycamore – Roots in the Triassic
“When gorse is out of bloom, kissing is out of fashion”
Floodplain regen – Burdock de Mestral – Female Hazel – Traveller’s-joy – Cracked Willow
Fodder vetch Vicia villosa, Crimson clover Trifolium incarnatum and Flax Linum usitatissimum from an arable bird mix. Leigh, Worcestershire. 07.11.25
8th September, 2025
Today I decided to go on a doorstep walk which took me over to Mill Road, crossing the River Stour and onto the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal. Once in the canal, I followed the towpath down to the Timber Lane bridge, before turning off towards Wyre Mill Farm.
After crossing the Stour for a second time, I passed the farm and took the lane back out onto Wilden, which had a quintessential pastoral view of Wilden Church and the cottages along the main road.
The swallows are still here, and as I trundled east, I passed beneath three birds squabbling for a spot on overhead lines.
I made my way back home along Wilden Lane, underneath the Leapgate Viaduct.
I hadn’t walked Timber Lane before, and rambling along the narrow lane rekindled a sense of child-like adventure for me, the kind that only comes from discovering a place that one has never been.
With a hint of Autumn in the air, leaves on the ground, this short, local walk was surprisingly restorative, and I’ll look forward to seeing how it alters as the seasons unfold.
