Week 1
It's been a week with all sorts of weather, with 26C heat, chilly nights, blustery winds, steady rain … and everything in between.
Nevertheless, the cycling has been good, and mostly the butterflies too.After a gentle day visiting the wonderful Great Orme in North Wales for Silver-studded Blues and Grayling, it was tougher to cross the Clwydian Range to Wrexham. But it was a joy to have a long descent after lots of climbing to 350m.
Large Heaths were flying at Whixall Moss, but In 26C heat they weren't stopping for photo opportunities. Nor were the fresh male Brimstones and Large Skippers in the more wooded areas.Volunteer warden Stephen Lewis showed me round Prees Heath Common, which is a BC success story. and I spotted lots of Silver-studded Blues flying in the heat.
I was particularly pleased to see White-letter Hairstreaks at Leftwich Meadows in Northwich. There are lots of Elm trees here, mostly in good condition. I had tried to spot WLH on my 1st Bike for Butterflies in 2021 (the LEJOG), but was thwarted by torrential rain. This time the male WLH were showing their characteristic spiraling combat flight. Always good to see.
In Didsbury (Manchester) I wanted to explore some urban green spaces, and was shown round Fletcher Moss, which is a wonderful urban park that feels like the countryside. Sadly, only a Speckled Wood braved the damp weather.
Astley Moss is an inspiration: here the Lancashire Wildlife Trust has been leading a project to restore these rare peat bogs.
It's slow, painstaking work, but they know what to do and how to do it. It just takes time, energy … and money. Gradually the Large Heath butterflies - known locally as the Manchester Argus - are returning. Sadly, none were flying on my visit, as it was cool and drizzly.
On the Sunday I visited Ainsdale Dunes NNR, a nationally important site for British wildlife. Once again, the weather intervened. It was windy, cold and damp - nothing was flying. I was also cold and wet, and I had a long way to go. So I cut my losses and headed north. It was a long day, more than 5 hours cycling in headwinds and occasionally driving rain. Character building!
For the enthusiasts, I've seen two subspecies of Silver-studded Blue; the davus subspecies of the Large Heath; and the thyone subspecies of the Grayling.
So my week started with hot, dry weather and finished cool and wet. Anyone who has put up a tent in the rain and wins, and packed away a wet tent in the morning will know how this saps the energy and depresses the spirits.
But we know that it's vital to Restore Nature Now, so the cause is more important than ever. Please give what you can.Week 2
It's been a tough week, but thank goodness for a rest day. There was rain on most days, and some serious hills.
I'm tired, and it feels as if there's nothing in my legs: I'm glad the big hills are behind me.
More worrying though is the lack of butterflies. OK, the weather has been unseasonal, but the numbers flying have been shockingly low.Please support, promote, and follow me on the last week: https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/bikeforbutterflies2024
The week started with an easy run - in the rain - from Preston to RSPB Leighton Moss near Carnforth, where I stored my bike while I stayed with my friend Chris in Kendal. We visited Arnside Knott in the afternoon. The next day - a much needed rest say - we went to Witherslack Woods and saw Small Pearl-bordered Fritillaries and Northern Brown Argus, as well as some Common Blues and a few other species in low numbers. After lunch. We ventured north to Wet Sleddale and saw a few Marsh Fritillaries and Small Pearl-bordered Fritillaries. This was despite cool, overcast, windy and damp weather.
Then I set off from Leighton Moss for the Way of the Roses to Bridlington. Getting to Settle on day 1 was OK, but long and hilly. I stopped off at Swarth Moor north of Settle, but couldn’t find any Small Pearl-bordered Fritillaries in the cold and damp, just a lonely Ringlet.
The next day - Settle to Ripon - taxed me to the limit. I struggled with a laden bike to get up the steep hills, some 12%, 14%, and even 19%. By the end it was 1,400m of climbing (4,500ft), and I was utterly exhausted. It was blowing a gale, but thankfully the wind was behind me. Almost no butterflies to be seen anywhere.
Ripon to Pocklington was mainly flat, mercifully. I stopped at Calley Heath near Pocklington and saw Purple Hairstreaks in the oak trees. That cheered me up a bit.
On the fourth day of the Way of the Roses, I visited Millington Pastures, which is a wonderful grassland site in the Yorkshire Wolds where hundreds of Marbled Whites fly on a sunny day. Sadly it wasn't, so I was unlucky again. The ride down to Driffield was glorious, though - a long and easy descent. I got to Bridlington for lunch, and was able to take the mandatory selfie at the Start-Finish post. There was another 10 miles to get to the campsite, where I was able to see England win on penalties. 
On the Sunday, it was a flattish ride through Hornsea and along the old railway line that is now part of the Trans Pennine Trail to Hull. At Priory Hill Fields I met Nick and Sean, who walk the transect there. We explored the fields in the rain, seeing only a hardy Ringlet. They supplied me with “just in case” provisions, which proved invaluable on the last leg of my journey to Laceby near Grimsby.
The next week sees me travel south through Lincolnshire and Cambridgeshire to Kettering where I hope to see Purple Emperors. Wish me luck with the weather!
Week 3
After 20 days - only three above 20C - I've completed the 700 miles of my 3rd #BikeForButterflies. The weather has been appalling, and the route taxed me to my limits, but it's been a great experience and I'm proud to have made it to the end in one piece. We've raised a good sum for Butterfly Conservation - and there’s still time to donate https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/bikeforbutterflies2024.
Although I finished on a high, with a Purple Emperor at Fermyn Woods, I have been shocked at how few butterflies there have been.
People will be familiar with the “splat test”: how many insects there are on a car's number plate after a journey. Cyclists have their own splat test, the number of flies they swallow (or spit out) on a ride. Well, I swallowed or spat out zero insects this time. A record!This is seriously alarming: no insects = no ecosystem.
It's easy to blame the weather, and this year has been awful. But it's not just weather, the changes are driven by climate change. It's not one “odd” season, it's a marked shift in our weather patterns, and in the frequency of extreme or unusual conditions. Nature can cope with gradual changes - it always has - but it can't cope with the changes we are seeing now. We need urgent and effective action to address climate change!
Added to that, there is the impact of industrial agriculture. Over 70% of the land in Britain is farmed, either arable or grazing, and the use of insecticides, herbicides and fertilisers is huge. Don't blame the farmers, they are doing what we asked, but the outcome is that most farmed land is poor habitat - a wildlife desert. We need to change the way that land is farmed, by making it profitable for farmers to be nature-friendly.
As it is, wildlife is being squeezed in tiny pockets of good habitat - “reserves” - surrounded by hostile land. This is NOT OK, and we to change our mindset to #RestoreNatureNow.
The commonest butterfly I saw was the Ringlet, which is adapted to the cool and damp weather that I endured. I also saw a lot of Red Admirals, a species that has spread north as the climate has warmed. It was a regular migrant to southern England, now it is resident and breeding through the year. Signs that climate change is with us, and that nature is having to respond.
Overall I saw 26 species (some in very low numbers), but I should have seen at least nine more. It's a sobering thought that our wildlife is not just in trouble, bit continues to decline. We need to Restore Nature Now https://www.restorenaturenow.com/.
