To walk through fields of buttercups and daisies as an adult gives me as much pleasure as when I gleefully ran through them as a child back in the day.

Sadly, such meadows rich in wild flowers are becoming fewer and fewer as pristine habitats are destroyed. in fact, since the second world war a staggering ninety seven percent of our wildflower meadows have been lost. To find one is something of a bonus but an unspoilt meadow can be enjoyed at Ham Lands alongside the river Thames upstream of Richmond.

Flanked by willow, oak, elm, elder, horse chestnut hawthorn and others the grassland is awash with species in variety. Swathes of cow parsley or as I prefer to call it Queen Anne's lace were abundant in late May, its sweet aroma pervading the area. Carpets of meadow buttercups, their glossy golden petals reflecting the sun, vetches, trefoils, hedge mustard, daisies clovers and bee-friendly crosswort to name but a few lent vibrant colour.

Peacock, small tortoiseshell, orange tip, common blue and a few white butterflies, very scarce elsewhere this year imbibed nectar.

In the adequate linear tree cover birdsong was very strong with  blackbird, robin, chiffchaff, blackcap chaffinch and wren topping the list, the wren revelling as always in a waterside habitat.

Very soon,  Ham Lands  will welcome grassland butterflies including meadow brown and three species of skipper. Newly hatched dragonflies and damselflies use the area to hunt insects before returning to the water when mature enough to breed.

Ham Lands? Meadow land at its finest.