A Day Out With the Otters.

A dark and stormy December day at Butterdon woods, we had to do some quick thinking to escape the potential dangers of falling branches and ice cold Dartmoor downpours. With the initial disappointment of arriving and finding out Pennywell farm was closed for the season we popped along the road to the otters and butterflies at Buckfastleigh. 

The butterfly sightings were limited, as you can imagine at this time of year but we did glimpse an owl butterfly with its markings resembling owls eyes and the intriguing see-through, glasswing butterfly. We spent some time observing the terrapins to spot if they were all real but came to the conclusion they were just very good at playing musical statues. 

The real hit was arriving just in time for the otters morning feed of leftovers from the local chippy (minus the chips). Our favourites were the Asian otters, (cute to take home but their squeaking would keep you up at night) and the mother with her two week old who would intermittently pop out of her bedding showing off with the pup in her mouth saying “look what I made”!

After capturing some blurry photos of the swift otters at the underwater viewing window, we crossed the road dodging the turning articulated delivery lorries and had a treat of hot chocolate, a chat of the day and a game of Uno. 

If I had a pound for every time the student said “this is a great offsite day” I’d be rich. Another successful day with the Running Deer.

Evie