Peter Smith writes:

This 200-acre country park on the edge of Hinckley was formerly a golf course so it has a large pond and its fair share of exotic trees.  However, its real glory is the extensive area of meadows.  The grasses were in flower at the time of our visit so, as well as admiring them billow in the breeze, it was the perfect opportunity to test our ID skills.  The meadows also contained great drifts of Betony (Stachys officinalis) and we found a small patch of Sneezewort (Achillea ptarmica).

 

Betony (Stachys officinalis) and Sneezewort (Achillea ptarmica)

We found a good range of invertebrates, of which the highlight had to be the rather beautiful Coppery Longhorn moth (Nemophora cupriacella).  This was only the second record for Leicestershire, the first having been found just three days earlier! 

European Chinchbugs (Ischnodemus sabuleti)

Coppery Longhorn moth (Nemophora cupriacella)

(Photos: Peter Smith, David Nicholls and Pouran Khodabaksh)