We convened at the Art Café in Dover for a coffee before our walk. This began at the Cowgate Cemetery before climbing the hill to the Drop Dedoubt. As before we walked through this before climbing out and then walking past the Western Heights. These fortifications are considerably more overgrown than the Redoubt. We aim to return here on an open day. The Grand Shaft is open regularly but the Redoubt is open not so frequently. From there we continued in the direction of the Hougham Beacon before we hit an old farm road which came from Farthingloe. We disturbed a Sparrowhawk on this old lane – it clearly uses it as a hunting ground. The lane took us under the A20 and we had to turn back in the direction of Dover to find the tunnel to Samphire Hoe. This is the new foreshore built from material excavated whilst building the Channel Tunnel. That tunnel runs right beneath us! Samphire Hoe has largely been left to itself to overgrow and it is now something of a nature reserve. I expect most of the plants are self-sown. It welcomes many migratory birds and butterflies. It often receives specimens blown across the channel and Clouded Yellow butterflies have already been recorded this season. We stayed here for a cup of tea in an Exhibition room with a good set of posters of British Orchids. Many are seen here at Samphire Hoe. The posters were as close as we got to any orchids all day though. We were hoping to see Early Purple and/or Early Spider Orchids. But would not find a single example all day. Disappointing. Pete and Dave bumped into the Barham Horticultural Society on an outing to the Hoe and so stopped for a chat. After that we returned through the tunnel before taking the path back to Dover under the Shakespeare Cliff. However the tide was high so a walk back along the beach was not possible. Instead we took the footbridge across the A20 and into Aycliffe. We then took the South Military Road over the Western Heights before dropping down the other side to the Alma Steps. We then jumped a train from Dover to Kearsney. From here we would head towards Coldred via the Lydden-Temple Ewell National Nature Reserve. We didn’t see any orchids here either. Nor any butterflies. It was too overcast and blustery for those. In the field next to the Coldred hill Dave and Pete saw a fox vixen with three cubs and stopped to watch for a while. I missed them! After that we crossed the A2 and wandered down the lane to the Carpenters. Here we had a few pints whilst chatting to the locals. Oscar was in there along with the usual reprobates. My brother arrived later to give me and Pete a lift home. Nice. Butterflies: nothing much about disappointingly. Probably a Small Heath. The notice-board at Samphire Hoe said the following were seen in the past week: Small Blue, Clouded Yellow, Holly Blue and Green-veined White. Flowers: we admired the Hawthorne blossom everywhere. On the roadside we saw Alexanders and Queen Anne's Lace and perhaps Lady’s Bedstraw. On the Downs grassland we saw: Sainfoin which fooled me into thinking it might be an orchid! Birdseye Speedwell, Kidney Vetch, Birdsfoot Trefoil (or Kidney Vetch or Horseshow Vetch). Too early to observe anything purple flowering. A few Bluebells were left. Wild Garlic was still about. Ox-Eye Daisies were just starting to flower. We saw Red Campion and Red Valerian. We saw Field Sorrel too. The one with dangling red seeds – sometimes called Sheep’s sorrel. I’m sure my Grandmother called it Rust because of the seed colour (not to be confused with Rust the fungal disease in plants). Birds: the Sparrowhawk on that hedged farm track. Anything else worth remarking on? I don’t think we saw Kestrels or Peregrines nesting in the chalk cliffs.