A mission......

Mr U&L and I went on a mission today, all the way back to Sandwich bay (a 200 mile round trip) to photograph these amazingly beautiful Marsh helleborines Epipactis palustris. 
Sandwich bay has a very good colony of this beautiful orchid which is found in wetland areas of damp grassland, marshes or dune slacks especially in chalky soils. The loose flower spikes up to 50 cm tall (looking really like the kind of orchids you would buy in a shop) carry up to 20 beautiful white and pink flowers and flower from late June to early August.  I thought they were stunningly beautiful and well worth the drive, and I have chosen a shot with a tiny fly about to land as I think it adds interest. 
After my whistle-stop tour of Sandwich Mr U&L and I went home via Tenterden, so he could re-visit the preserved railway he used to work on some 36 years ago when we were first married. He has been back since, but I haven't, and it was strange seeing the familiar four turrets on the tower of Tenterden's St Mildred's church again. So, I have added a shot of the church (taken from the Kent and East Sussex railway) for you to enjoy too.