The Muddy Marble Marvel
This is the 8th. cache in a new 2009 series for Hadleigh Country
Park
Hadleigh Country Park lies between South Benfleet, to the West,
and Leigh, to the East. The park consists of a mix of scrub,
woodland and grassland hillside running down to grazing marsh and
seawall, which is adjacent to a narrow strip of salt marsh. This
wide range of habitat provides many places for plants and animals
to live. In summer this is one of the best places in Essex to see
butterflies, dragonflies and damselflies.
The rangers tell me that the
best place to park is in the main car-park (N 51º
33·130'
E 00º 35·724'), however,
this is £2 for the day. The car-park closes at varying times
so check before you leave. Alternative parking can be found at Benfleet Station or
surrounding roads (N 51º 32·668'
E 00º 33·917'), however,
there are charges and restrictions.
Marbled White, Melanargia galathea
The Marbled White is a distinctive and attractive black and white
butterfly, unlikely to be mistaken for any other species. It has a
wingspan of about 55mm. In July it flies in areas of unimproved
grassland and can occur in large numbers on southern downland. It
shows a marked preference for purple flowers such as Wild Marjoram,
Field Scabious, thistles, and knapweeds. Adults may be found
roosting halfway down tall grass stems.
The cache has now been replaced with
a container slightly bigger than your standard 35mm film can. Watch
out for the fowl!
This cache contains a codeword for the Marsh
Farm/Cressing Temple Bonus cache.
Each park will have a different codeword. When you have collected
the codewords from the other Essex Country Parks send all the
codewords to SXParx (via GC.com) to receive a free entry voucher
into Marsh Farm or Cressing Temple.