Two Go Back to Spain

[DBK]

We left Algonales (an excellent free aire but designed by someone who had never seen an aire) and drove southwards on the winding roads to Ubrique.

This is Pueblos Blancos country.

The "White Village" above is Montecorto near the striking village of Zahara which is dominated by a castle and tower (illuminated at night!) but of which I have photographs not due to gloom and low cloud when we drove past it.

But from here we entered vulture country. The hill above Montecorto gives an idea of the territory. Rugged mountains and cork oaks.

The trees nearest the camera above have been harvested for their bark but I think the majority of the trees on the hills are not worked.

This is the Parque natural de la Sierra de Grazalema and we have driven through this region before and I was impressed the first time by how seriously they take this park. It seems to be entirely fenced off and from memory you are not allowed in without official permission.

I mentioned the weather earlier - a bit overcast and not good for thermals which is what vultures want first thing in the morning. You might want a cup of tea or coffee first thing but if you are a Gyps fulvus a nice warm up current of air is preffered.

No prize-winning photo but the two Griffon vultures, part of a group of eight, were not much higher than we were. They were struggling to get aloft.

One gave up and landed in a tree close by.

If you look to the left of the bird there is another smaller bird (woodchat shrike?) completely unphased by the arrival of another bird with an eight foot wingspan and a bill almost as big as it.

But it wasn't all woodland. More like the Lake District in places - except for the dozen or so vultures overhead.

We are staying at the free aire in Ubrique (CC 53907) which is excellent.

Although to get fresh water you need to visit the tourist office for a token and following the natural order of things the tourist office is on the other side of the town. But the walk of about kilometre isn't unpleasant as it takes you up a pedestrianised street lined with cafes.

Just beyond the tourist office is the old part of the town which is worth an explore. Claim extra points if you don't get lost.

The last picture shows the Peñon de la Becerra, a curious rock around which they have built a house.

This graffiti has been stencilled on a wall in the aire.

I didn't find anything in English about him but he was apparently a student arrested in Madrid and imprisoned for eight weeks on trumped up charges and eventually released.

 

[jumartoo]

We left Algonales (an excellent free aire but designed by someone who had never seen an aire) and drove southwards on the winding roads to Ubrique.

View attachment 230609

This is Pueblos Blancos country.

View attachment 230610

The "White Village" above is Montecorto near the striking village of Zahara which is dominated by a castle and tower (illuminated at night!) but of which I have photographs not due to gloom and low cloud when we drove past it.

But from here we entered vulture country. The hill above Montecorto gives an idea of the territory. Rugged mountains and cork oaks.

View attachment 230613

The trees nearest the camera above have been harvested for their bark but I think the majority of the trees on the hills are not worked.

This is the Parque natural de la Sierra de Grazalema and we have driven through this region before and I was impressed the first time by how seriously they take this park. It seems to be entirely fenced off and from memory you are not allowed in without official permission.

I mentioned the weather earlier - a bit overcast and not good for thermals which is what vultures want first thing in the morning. You might want a cup of tea or coffee first thing but if you are a Gyps fulvus a nice warm up current of air is preffered.

View attachment 230615

No prize-winning photo but the two Griffon vultures, part of a group of eight, were not much higher than we were. They were struggling to get aloft.

One gave up and landed in a tree close by.

View attachment 230616

If you look to the left of the bird there is another smaller bird (woodchat shrike?) completely unphased by the arrival of another bird with an eight foot wingspan and a bill almost as big as it.

But it wasn't all woodland. More like the Lake District in places - except for the dozen or so vultures overhead.

View attachment 230617

We are staying at the free aire in Ubrique (CC 53907) which is excellent.

View attachment 230626

Although to get fresh water you need to visit the tourist office for a token and following the natural order of things the tourist office is on the other side of the town. But the walk of about kilometre isn't unpleasant as it takes you up a pedestrianised street lined with cafes.

Just beyond the tourist office is the old part of the town which is worth an explore. Claim extra points if you don't get lost.

View attachment 230625
View attachment 230624
View attachment 230622
View attachment 230623

The last picture shows the Peñon de la Becerra, a curious rock around which they have built a house.

This graffiti has been stencilled on a wall in the aire.

View attachment 230632

I didn't find anything in English about him but he was apparently a student arrested in Madrid and imprisoned for eight weeks on trumped up charges and eventually released.

Went to Grazalema many years ago, before aires were invented! Feeling a need to go back again sometime. It is a rainy place though so you're lucky if you've got good weather.

 

[DBK]

Went to Grazalema many years ago, before aires were invented! Feeling a need to go back again sometime. It is a rainy place though so you're lucky if you've got good weather.

The BBC website forecast said sun this afternoon - but it remains overcast. They are also suggesting 9°C in the early hours and sadly they may get that forecast right!

But it is a really interesting area although the roads are a bit tight in places.

 

[jockaneezer]

We stayed up in the hills at Gaucin and heard from an ex pat, how a griffon vulture nearly had his Yorkshire terrier for tapas !

 

[Twogirls]

Thanks @DBK for this interesting, informative and educational thread...am following with interest and taking notes for our next winter tour. Great photos too.

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[DBK]

From Ubrique we drove yesterday south west into the Parque Natural de los Alcornocales - which means "Park of the Cork Oaks". The road was narrow in places but the traffic was very light although some of it was travelling very quickly, so quickly I was going round some corners barely above walking pace! This little clip will give you a feel for the scenery and the traffic. It ends with us stopping to rearrange the back of the van after I'd stamped on the brakes when the white car suddenly appeared.



We are staying the weekend at Los Gazules (CC 27352 and ACSI) partly because we needed a laundry and also because aires are non-existent in the forest.

I only saw a couple of possible wild camping spots on the way here but they were within full view of the road and I suspect the park authorities don't encourage it. The road is closely fenced and any tracks leading into the forest were gated.

But onto more serious stuff. We had a hat fitting for Charlie today. Which suits him best? My Goretex Outdoor Research model:

Or Mrs DBK's Bud Flannigan?

But hats are no protection against ticks. I've taken EIGHT off Charlie today and nine if you include the one spotted walking across our sofa.

He wasn't due another dose of Advantix for a few days but we've treated him today. Presumably the last dose was wearing off.

I suspect the weather may be a factor - it is now warming up after the cold and wet and the critters are on the march. We saw two deer on the way here and of course there are plenty of other animals around which act as hosts in addition to the local dogs.

I must check myself carefully during tonight's shower.

As mentioned in earlier posts this place is thick with Griffon Vultures. Two sat conveniently on a branch during this afternoon's walk, though a little too far way for a good shot.

I tried to take a video of the birds flying overhead but my camera isn't brilliant for video and despite being set to manual focus it kept falling out of focus. But if you ignore the the fuzzy bits and the camera shake this just might give you an impression of what these birds look like overhead. For scale each is about the size of a typical door you would find in your house.



I suggested in an earlier post they probably didn't harvest the bark from all of the oaks. I may have been wrong as this shot below taken from a path a couple of kilometres from the nearest road suggests otherwise.

This was in rugged country.

And unexpectedly I suddenly came across an orchid.

Not one I've seen before but it looked distinctive so I thought easy to identify.

Sadly no. It is one of the Tounge Orchid group but there are five which look very similar. Based on distribution it is probably one of two and I need to go back tomorrow and check if the base of the lip has one or two black blobs. Such is the life of an amateur botanist.

(TBC) (Tomorrow)

 

[DBK]

Back to the orchids this morning in very pleasant weather. It has been overcast for some time but we had blue skies this morning.

I was able to identify yesterday's orchid as Serapias Lingua or in English the Tongue Orchid.

But not far away in a very shady spot I noticied this one.

Another new one. The Violet Bird's Nest orchid, Limodorum arbotivum. This is one of those odd plants without green leaves or chlorophyll. The balance of opinion suggests it lives as a saprophyte on rotting vegetation but a few botanists consider it is parasitic. In dry years it rarely flowers so the recent rains have done some good.

Back at the MH afterwards it was tick time with Charlie again. We found about half a dozen on him today. Just in case anyone doesn't know what a tick looks like I've done a short video.



And as an aside, the first few ticks I removed I threw down our loo. Then I wondered if they climbed out it might be inconvenient if they latched onto the first flesh they saw. Subsequent ones have gone down the sink!

We are off to the coast tomorrow where the only menace might be sand flies.

 

[gus-lopez]

Then I wondered if they climbed out it might be inconvenient if they latched onto the first flesh they saw. Subsequent ones have gone down the sink!

Put them in a piece of tissue fold over & squash . Don't let them wander off as they'll reproduce.I don't know weather they drown either ?

 

[jumartoo]

You need to crush them with a hard object 'cos they don't squish.

 

[DBK]

Put them in a piece of tissue fold over & squash . Don't let them wander off as they'll reproduce.I don't know weather they drown either ?

Yes, that's the technique I'm using now. The number of ticks is ridiculous. Since writing the post above we've found at least another four or five including another very close to his eye - making two we've found by his eyes. They are all small ticks so haven't been attached long. We treated him again with Advantix only yesterday.

You need to crush them with a hard object 'cos they don't squish.

I've noticied that. When they are small they are very resiliant - but big ones go messily pop - but we don't want any growing that big!

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[MikeD]

Love the pictures especially the Orchids.

 

[DBK]

Love the pictures especially the Orchids.

I used the built in flash on the camera for the photos of the Violet one today. A bit crude but it was just too dark for anything else. I'd brought a tiny little tripod with me to take the picture of the Tongue Orchid but it wasn't tall enough for the next one. The problem is do you carry a full rucksack with you (or employ porters ) so you have every eventuality covered? To get a really good shot I would have needed more than one flash and probably a reflector or two.

 

[MikeD]

I used the built in flash on the camera for the photos of the Violet one today. A bit crude but it was just too dark for anything else. I'd brought a tiny little tripod with me to take the picture of the Tongue Orchid but it wasn't tall enough for the next one. The problem is do you carry a full rucksack with you (or employ porters ) so you have every eventuality covered?

I take just my 90mm macro - No flash or tripod. Canon 5d or 1d camera. But love your captures - really great pictures.

 

[Coastal Cruiser.]

Yes, that's the technique I'm using now. The number of ticks is ridiculous. Since writing the post above we've found at least another four or five including another very close to his eye - making two we've found by his eyes. They are all small ticks so haven't been attached long. We treated him again with Advantix only yesterday.



I've noticied that. When they are small they are very resiliant - but big ones go messily pop - but we don't want any growing that big!

How many do you find on a normal trip away?
Seems a lot of hassle doing that every day!
We must be lucky as my two jacks have had one tick each in the 10 years we have had them and they go out every day for walks and run around the fields.
Do you have a tick twirler?, bought one a few years back when we found the tick and they are so much better than tweezers.

 

[DBK]

How many do you find on a normal trip away?
Seems a lot of hassle doing that every day!
We must be lucky as my two jacks have had one tick each in the 10 years we have had them and they go out every day for walks and run around the fields.
Do you have a tick twirler?, bought one a few years back when we found the tick and they are so much better than tweezers.

Like you, until we came here they were infrequent although we do take Charlie on Dartmoor when at home and need to check him afterwards.

This place is extraordinary, we must be getting near two dozen ticks found in two days.

I suspect the weather might be a factor. It has been wet and cold for a while but warming up now and the ticks are therefore making up for lost ground.

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[gus-lopez]

Friends of ours took in a stray recently that turned up at there house. It was covered in ticks, hundreds
Vet gave him a tablet & the next day they were falling off of him all dead . All gone in 2 days. What it was I don't know but I've used one for fleas ( Comfortis)No idea if it is the same tablet I will have to ask.

 

[Jenowen]

I’m really enjoying your account of your trip and noting places of interest for future reference.
We have, however, visited quite a few places that you mention taking our golden retriever with us. So far, in three or four years, touch wood, she has been tick free. She wears a Ceresta collar, original one purchased from our vet at home but subsequent ones bought in French or Spanish pharmacies for a significantly lower cost. The collar works even when she swims, unlike Avantix. I’d recommend these.
Keep up the great posts and wildlife notes, they’re brilliant and I hope you find a suitable solution to your tick problem.

 

[DBK]

I’m really enjoying your account of your trip and noting places of interest for future reference.
We have, however, visited quite a few places that you mention taking our golden retriever with us. So far, in three or four years, touch wood, she has been tick free. She wears a Ceresta collar, original one purchased from our vet at home but subsequent ones bought in French or Spanish pharmacies for a significantly lower cost. The collar works even when she swims, unlike Avantix. I’d recommend these.
Keep up the great posts and wildlife notes, they’re brilliant and I hope you find a suitable solution to your tick problem.

We used a Scalibor collar a couple of years ago which worked and we used Advantix last year in Italy and didn't see any ticks either. I think the ticks here are either immune to Advantix or are just very hungry.

 

[Jenowen]

Oh dear! We’re heading for Spain on Thursday so we’ll be extra vigilant in looking out for hungry ticks!

 

[DBK]

It's Monday so time to move again. This time for the coast.

But before we left I took Charlie for a walk and on this occasion I remembered my binoculars so there was probably no chance of seeing anything interesting.

Wrong! First up was a Little Owl sitting on a wire. If you've seen photographs of this bird they are usually looking directly into the camera and this one was positively glaring at me!

Off to one side I saw a couple of what I took to be House Martins. They had pale rumps but looking again they were pale but not the white of a House Martin. Deploying my binoculars I could see they also had long tails.

They were my first Red-rumped Swallows! https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red-rumped_swallow

We drove down to Algerciras where the very useful website mygpl.eu found us a Repsol garage with gas. Filling up was a bit long-winded as the pump didn't want to play at first but after stern words from me and the cashier it performed its stuff.

Then off to the Carrefour North East of Algerciras where I discovered the solar charging problems (still unresolved) described in another thread.

Finally we rolled in to Camping Torre del la Peña near Tarifa (CC 59008) and a pitch looking over the Straits of Gibraltar to Africa.

This evening while sitting outside I looked up to see where the screeching was coming from to see hundreds of Swifts overhead. It was a massive flock and as suddenly as they had arrived they were away within minutes. They must have been on migration and had just made landfall here after leaving Africa.

Magical.

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[DBK]

The migrations of birds into Europe continues. After yesterday's Swift's I watched a dozen or so Black Kites fly in this morning.

We have a prime bird watching spot. This is us on the right.

The lumps in the background are the Rif mountains of Morroco.

The van to the left of us had just arrived. A very new UK registered Vantage Neo with an interesting layout - and, if the owners don't mind me pointing out, some expensive extras, including the £4K garden shed door on the side. Nice folk though.

We even have a beach side bar.

Which would be even better if it was open tonight! It was open yesterday but has shut tonight for some reason.

Charlie is enjoying the waves.



Tomorrow we are going to drive into Tarifa. We may even have lunch at a restaurant!

 

[DBK]

Our vigil near the Pillars of Hercules continues. Where we are there is no beach at high tide but at the moment low tide is mid-morning so this is a convenient time for a walk with Charlie.

The rocks on the beach are interesting.

The horizontal strata has been turned on their end leaving jagged teeth but at one point the rocks have been deformed significantly.

It looks from this angle like the jaws of some sea monster. But from another angle what's going here is clearer.

The strata has been folded over - either a syncline or an anticline depending on whether the older rocks are on the outside or the inside of the bend respectively.

The geology of this area is interesting. Until I looked into it I hadn't realised the Straits of Gibraltar are the result of two meteor impacts.

The first about 5.9 million years ago closed the entrance.

While it was blocked the Mediterranean dried up leaving a layer salt.

Then some 600,000 years later another impact off north west Spain opened the Straits up again, allowing the Mediterranean to flood in.

Fortunately, things are geologically slightly calmer these days.

Dodging meteors we went shopping this morning to Lidls on the outskirts of Tarifa. The plan was to go into Tarifa afterwards for lunch but it was blowing a gale and the thought of being sand-blasted walking the streets of Tarifa didn't appeal so we have postponed lunch out until the weather improves.

During the afternoon some more Black Kites came across from Africa and I managed to photograph one - mainly to be sure my identification was correct. They are a pretty nondescript looking bird but the faint V in the tail is the main clue.

I also watched these two boats for a while.

They were moored up off shore for a couple of hours and the occupants didn't do anything obvious like fishing or diving.

Then I read an article in today's Times about the drug smuggling around here from Africa.

The guys in the boats were almost certainly police or customs.

 

[Riverbankannie]

Our vigil near the Pillars of Hercules continues. Where we are there is no beach at high tide but at the moment low tide is mid-morning so this is a convenient time for a walk with Charlie.

The rocks on the beach are interesting.

View attachment 231884

The horizontal strata has been turned on their end leaving jagged teeth but at one point the rocks have been deformed significantly.

View attachment 231882

It looks from this angle like the jaws of some sea monster. But from another angle what's going here is clearer.

View attachment 231883

The strata has been folded over - either a syncline or an anticline depending on whether the older rocks are on the outside or the inside of the bend respectively.

The geology of this area is interesting. Until I looked into it I hadn't realised the Straits of Gibraltar are the result of two meteor impacts.

The first about 5.9 million years ago closed the entrance.

View attachment 231889

While it was blocked the Mediterranean dried up leaving a layer salt.

Then some 600,000 years later another impact off north west Spain opened the Straits up again, allowing the Mediterranean to flood in.

View attachment 231890

Fortunately, things are geologically slightly calmer these days.

Dodging meteors we went shopping this morning to Lidls on the outskirts of Tarifa. The plan was to go into Tarifa afterwards for lunch but it was blowing a gale and the thought of being sand-blasted walking the streets of Tarifa didn't appeal so we have postponed lunch out until the weather improves.

During the afternoon some more Black Kites came across from Africa and I managed to photograph one - mainly to be sure my identification was correct. They are a pretty nondescript looking bird but the faint V in the tail is the main clue.

View attachment 231886

I also watched these two boats for a while.

View attachment 231885

They were moored up off shore for a couple of hours and the occupants didn't do anything obvious like fishing or diving.

Then I read an article in today's Times about the drug smuggling around here from Africa.

The guys in the boats were almost certainly police or customs.

Your posts are always so interesting. Never too old to learn something new

 

[DBK]

After a week here near Tarifa we are moving on tomorrow a little further up the coast. We still have another six weeks left so we are moving slowly.

From our perch above the sea I have been watching a lot of shipping making its way to and from the Mediterranean. There are several apps which show where ships are. I use one called Marine Traffic which shows screens like these.

The ship symbols are colour coded, red for example are oil tankers. If you click on one, as I've done in the second screen it shows the name of the vessel. If you click again a window opens showing more detail. In this case a ferry going to Tangier. Many harmless hours can be spent with a pair of binoculars and this app.

When not ship watching there has still been some opportunities for bird watching.

These were a surprise.

And a little later one on its own.

Griffon Vultures but over the sea? I suspect the first group were in a thermal which drifted away from the land. The second bird seemed to have flown from Africa across the Straits. A few young Griffons do fly over there before returning to settle down like sensible birds when they get a bit older. There are a very few vultures from Africa which come over as vagrants. The Rüppells Vulture looks like a slightly smaller dark Griffon but even with my most optimistic glasses on I can't say any of my photos reveal a Rüppells Vulture.

The number of seagulls we can see is enormous. Having been corrected by my brother for thinking I had seen Herring Gulls I now know the birds here are Yellow Legged Gulls - and I've even seen their yellow legs to confirm this!

Sometime flocks of two hundred birds or more gather over the sea and start to feed. Through binoculars I could occasionally see the surface of the water erupting with tiny fish. The flocks feed for a few brief moments then disperse until one of them spots more fish at which point the flock reforms and they all pile in.

The interesting question is why are the little fish jumping out of the water? I suspect they are being hunted by bigger fish from below.

But probably not as big a fish as what washed up today.

Some gulls were perching on the carcass. Later it washed up on some rocks.

Forensic icthyologists will be able to make a better guess but I'm thinking some sort of tuna. It must have weighed 50kg - 100kg when it was alive. Intriguingly even the gulls shunned it once it was beached. It must have been very ripe. I stayed upwind.

 

[Lenny HB]

Great thread John keep the info coming.

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[Jenowen]

Oh dear! We’re heading for Spain on Thursday so we’ll be extra vigilant in looking out for hungry ticks!

That’ll teach me to be smug! We’re in Dax in the Landes region of France, en route to Spain. Dog wearing brand new ceresta collar - and I found a tick on her this morning!! I’ll definitely be super vigilant now.

 

[DBK]

That’ll teach me to be smug! We’re in Dax in the Landes region of France, en route to Spain. Dog wearing brand new ceresta collar - and I found a tick on her this morning!! I’ll definitely be super vigilant now.

Thanks for the reminder as I meant to give an update on the tick situation.

I think our error was working on giving the Advantix every month, but the dose is once every 28 days. So I think we were a few days late giving the repeat dose and even then it took a good 48 to 72 hours to begin to work. Once it did we found a few ticks on Charlie's bedding or which came away with the brush. Yesterday we even found a dessicated one under his chin.

So once it begins to work the ticks don't want to bite him and fall off and crawl about or if they do bite, like the one under his chin, they die.

The lesson I think is to stick rigidly to the 28 day interval.

 

[DBK]

We have shuffled a bit further up the coast to Camping Pinar San José near Barbate and Cape Trafalgar, CC 57777 and ACSI.

It is a good kilometre walk to the beach but worth it when you get there.

The lighthouse is Cape Trafalgar and it looks quite close - don't be fooled it must have been nearly another two kilometres away along the beach!

But we plodded stoically on, being overtaken by a party of Brits on horseback just before we reached the lighthouse.

The view from below the lighthouse looking back the way we had walked.

And looking inland - with horses. Eat your heart out Peter O'Toole.

Nature Notes

We'll get the plants out of the way way quickly.

The Large Cuckoo Pint Arum italicum very like the Lords and Ladies we get in the UK except for the colour. Poisenous seeds too but not normally deadly. The roots can be boiled and eaten but something from Lidl or out of a tin would be generally be better.

And the Spanish Oyster Plant Scolymus hispanicus a weird fusion of thistle and dandelion.

Bugs Section

This is a great place for Coleoptera and I have seen several interesting beetles. The star in terms of size were these, which are numerous.

A relative of the Stag beetle I think. Lucanus barbarossa (TBC) and a male about 4cm long. I suspect it can give a painful nip!

We only saw one of these, a European Rhinoceros Beetle Oryctes nasicornis and if it looks a bit dirty I had just rescued it from an outdoor sink. I suspect it can't do short or vertical take-offs.

Spider-phobes stopping reading here.

Mrs DBK turned out her sandals today, which had been sitting outside the 'van and the biggest spider I've ever seen in Europe fell out of them! It was grey/brown colour but with banding on the legs. Too quick for a photoshoot it fled rapidly. In size because of the brief glance it would be easy to exaggerate but I would guess not less than 100mm and probably bigger.

My guess is it was one of the Huntsman spiders. The image below isn't mine but it looked like this.

Sleep well and check your shoes in the morning!

 

[Jenowen]

You’re in a fantastic place. Check out the pines just over the fence and see if you can find the chameleon. It’s quite a big beasty!
There are lovely walks through the pines to Barbate and further afield as well and don’t miss Saturday’s hippy market.

 

[Coastal Cruiser.]

We have shuffled a bit further up the coast to Camping Pinar San José near Barbate and Cape Trafalgar, CC 57777 and ACSI.

View attachment 233370

It is a good kilometre walk to the beach but worth it when you get there.

View attachment 233356

The lighthouse is Cape Trafalgar and it looks quite close - don't be fooled it must have been nearly another two kilometres away along the beach!

But we plodded stoically on, being overtaken by a party of Brits on horseback just before we reached the lighthouse.

View attachment 233357

The view from below the lighthouse looking back the way we had walked.

View attachment 233358

And looking inland - with horses. Eat your heart out Peter O'Toole.

View attachment 233359

Nature Notes

We'll get the plants out of the way way quickly.

The Large Cuckoo Pint Arum italicum very like the Lords and Ladies we get in the UK except for the colour. Poisenous seeds too but not normally deadly. The roots can be boiled and eaten but something from Lidl or out of a tin would be generally be better.

View attachment 233360

And the Spanish Oyster Plant Scolymus hispanicus a weird fusion of thistle and dandelion.

View attachment 233362

Bugs Section

This is a great place for Coleoptera and I have seen several interesting beetles. The star in terms of size were these, which are numerous.

View attachment 233363

A relative of the Stag beetle I think. Lucanus barbarossa (TBC) and a male about 4cm long. I suspect it can give a painful nip!

We only saw one of these, a European Rhinoceros Beetle Oryctes nasicornis and if it looks a bit dirty I had just rescued it from an outdoor sink. I suspect it can't do short or vertical take-offs.

View attachment 233367

Spider-phobes stopping reading here.

Mrs DBK turned out her sandals today, which had been sitting outside the 'van and the biggest spider I've ever seen in Europe fell out of them! It was grey/brown colour but with banding on the legs. Too quick for a photoshoot it fled rapidly. In size because of the brief glance it would be easy to exaggerate but I would guess not less than 100mm and probably bigger.

My guess is it was one of the Huntsman spiders. The image below isn't mine but it looked like this.

View attachment 233365

Sleep well and check your shoes in the morning!

A good guard dog would have seen that spider off

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