ON one of the hottest days of the summer, 18 members of the Haslemere Natural History Society met to look at butterflies on Levin Down.

The path from Singleton climbs gradually up Levin Down to Sussex Wildlife Trust’s nature reserve.

From the top, on this beautifully clear day, the panorama to the south was stunning: landmarks included Bow Hill at Kingley Vale, Goodwood and the Trundle.

In such high temperatures the 15 butterfly species seen were very active. They included marbled white, ringlet, common blue, a comma and a peacock, with high numbers of meadow brown, plus small and large skippers.

The group with chairman Margaret Hibbard as leader much appreciated the company of voluntary reserve manager Ann Griffiths, who does a regular transect-count of butterflies and has known the area since the 1980s. She described how management work organised by the trust has recently included grazing by herdwick sheep and three Exmoor ponies, contractors dealing with invading sycamore and hawthorn scrub and volunteers pulling ragwort.

The result was a magnificent profusion of pink, white, yellow and blue chalk-loving wild flowers; for example, deep blue round-headed rampion or ‘Pride of Sussex,’ pale blue harebell, bright pink pyramidal orchid and – good nectar sources for butterflies – purple wild marjoram and wild thyme.