Saw an adder today

[werdnal]

In fact my son nearly ran over it on his bike!

We went out on the recently opened Goss Moor trail near where we live in Cornwall. It runs through the Goss Moor nature reserve, and I was just thinking back to last nights Springwatch and how similar the habitat to where Simon was looking for adders, when my son swerved to avoid what he initially thought was a stick lying on the track. The adder immediately coiled, then made a dash for the edge of the track and disappeared amongst some stones. It was a beautiful snake, very vivid black and white markings, and about a foot and a half long. Largest adder I have ever seen - spotted a little baby one once which I rescued from the middle of a road, but never seen an adult.

[Mark_b]

Sounds like a male. Adders are wonderful creatures, I get to see them on a daily basis and they still make my jaw drop!