Above Lake Garda on Day 3.

On our third day at Garda we decided to take a stroll northwards away from the town, initially following the shoreline of the lake, and then climbing quite steeply up the Via Castel towards the summit of a hill that hopefully would provide some different views.

A view of the exclusive hotel on the wooded peninsular at Punta SanVigilio.

About two thirds of the way to the summit we stopped for a welcome rest and listened to the beautiful song of a Nightingale hidden away in the verdant, dense vegetation while Hooded Crows and a Raven flew high overhead. 

We spotted what we thought were small yellow butterflies and eventually we caught up with one with its wings open only to the realise that it was a day flying moth, a Speckled Yellow (Pseudopanthera macularia) that frequents open woodland.

The next quarry for the lens was a Wall [Brown] (Lasiommata megera) sunning itself. This is a species that is no longer found in my home county. Other species seen were a White and a Speckled Wood.

Finally from the summit a view across the lake towards the distant north-western shore and then it was time to make the long descent back to civilisation and another delicious evening meal at our hotel.