Back in 2018 I took a look at the Wee Bay in spring (Walk 10) but now it’s high summer and the range of flowers to be seen in this splendid location is probably at its greatest.  This time, rather than go directly to the shore from the start point (GR NS098556), first take a walk along the pavement, starting at the bus shelter, and head back in the direction of the Kingarth Hotel.  Here, along with many of the commoner roadside flowers, you will find a wonderful assortment of wild flowers associated with arable farming, several of them rarely found elsewhere on the island. 

One of these is Bugloss, a plant with very bristly leaves and stem and small blue flowers; its leaves are smaller than those of the earlier flowering Green Alkanet to which it is related.  Also in this photo are the pink flowers of Common Stork’s-bill and the small white flowers of Corn Spurrey, with its narrow leaves in whorled clusters.

Bugloss, Stork's-bill and Corn Spurrey

Other “arable weeds” are the delightful Field Pansy and the elegant Common Hemp-nettle.

Field Pansy

Hemp Deadnettle

 Smooth Hawk's-beard

Less spectacular but easy to see and identify are Fat-hen, Field Forget-me-not, Common Ramping-Fumitory, Hedge Mustard, Marsh Cudweed and Red-shank.

Goat's-beard

Goat’s-beard is a rarity on the island, though not uncommon elsewhere.  It’s sometimes known as Jack-go-to-bed-at-noon because the flowerheads are open only in the morning.  When it goes to seed, its magnificent puff ball puts to shame anything that the lowly Dandelion can offer!

There’s also a good selection of roadside flowers such as Smooth Hawk’s-beard, Prickly Sowthistle and Common Bird’s-foot Trefoil,

It's a fascinating short walk and you may well spot more species than those I have listed below.  After about 200 yards on the pavement there's a track on the right between two fields. Turn here and continue straight on past the houses to arrive at the beach.

I’ve limited the flower list (below) to species on the roadside section (at least 37 in just 200 yards!) but once you reach the beach a whole range of additional habitats opens up, with well over 100 species to be seen in total.  With the exception of one large, featureless lawn, the shore area offers a delightful mixture of gardens merging almost seamlessly into more wild vegetation and the beach;  it currently provides a wonderful habitat not just for a range of plants but also for birds, small mammals and insects.

 I’ll just pick out just a few of the flowers.  If you turn left at the beach and go as far as the bridge over the Mill Burn, there’s an established patch of Mugwort, a plant that is found in only a few other locations on the island, and always coastal.

Mugwort by Mill Burn bridge

Quite a number of the plants you can see are garden escapes that are now flourishing in the wild.  Soapwort is a prime example of this, currently just coming into flower.  Great Mullein, Japanese Rose and Indian (Himalayan) Balsam are others.

Soapwort

My favourite plants now in flower include the tall orange Perennial Sowthistle, Tufted Vetch for the way it scrambles, the sweet smelling Lady’s Bedstraw, Yarrow with its range of colours from white to pink/mauve, and Silverweed for the long, red runners it lays across the sand.  Least favourite?  Probably Sea Radish which, bright though it is, seems still to be expanding and taking over large sections of the coast.  Enjoy them all as you make your way back along the foreshore.

Here’s my list from the roadside section: