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The Otter Valley is
located in south east Devon and has formed over thousands of years
of erosion from the River Otter which starts in the Blackdown Hills
to the north and enters the sea at Budleigh Salterton. The Otter
Valley is just one of quite a few valleys which run north-south,
parallel to each other along this part of the south Devon coastline.
There is the Clyst Valley to the west and the Sid Valley to the east
with high ridges separating the valleys.
The climate here is
described as maritime temperate and the native vegetation is
predominantly broad-leaf forest consisting of ash, common oak (not
sessile), beech and lime. Introduced species such as chestnut, horse
chestnut, sycamore and holm oak also thrive here.
Seasons:
Being on the south
coast of Devon and on the South West peninsula of England the
climate here is one of the mildest in the British Isles and strongly
influenced by the North Atlantic which moderates the temperatures
more significantly than places further east and north.
Traditionally the
timing of the seasons are said to follow the equinoxes and
solstices, i.e., winter being the period between 21st December to
March 21st. This may well apply in other parts of the world but here
in the south west of England this timing of the seasons has little
meaning. Meteorologically the seasons are better defined as Winter =
Dec, Jan & Feb; Spring = Mar, Apr & May and so on. This divides the
year up into nice, equal parts and is useful for weather recording
but is a generalisation for the whole of the British Isles where the
climate of northern Scotland is a world away from the climate here
in the Otter Valley.
Here are my
'generalisations' for the seasons here in the Otter Valley and they
roughly follow the cycles of natural world around us:
Winter (Dec -
mid-February): Somebody once told me that down here in the South
West you only get what he termed was a 'pseudo-winter'. I
have a tendency to agree. Even though I call December a winter month
the sea is still so warm that days with a maximum below 10C are not
common
until January. Another person said that there is always a touch of
spring in a Devon winter, and I think that is the best way to
describe the months of December, January & February. The trees may
be without leaves from mid-December onwards but you will still find
a Herb Robert and primroses flowering in the woods and hedgerows in
January.
Spring
(mid-February - mid-May):
Spring comes early to the Otter Valley and by mid-February nature
seems be getting prepared. The dawn chorus is becoming very
noticeable now, as is the lengthening of the day. Wild daffodils,
3-cornered Leeks and snowdrops will be in flower before the end of
February and by mid-March the hawthorn and willow will be coming into
leaf. By April the Devon Bank hedgerows are bursting into life with
a mass of wildflowers and the fields turn yellow with buttercups and
dandelions. At the end of April most of the trees will be in full
leaf though the ash is always a late starter.
Summer (mid-May -
mid-September): By mid-May
the countryside has taken on its summer look with all the trees now
in full, dark green leaf and will stay that way until well into the
autumn.
Autumn
(mid-September - November):
Autumn feels like the shortest season, but due to the warmth of the
sea it can stay surprisingly warm and October often produces
summer-like days down on the beach. Frosts are not common and in many
years don't appear until after Xmas.
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