from the Dark Skies bench
What’s on my back?
Across my back are carvings of the creatures and plants that share the night with me — some flit, some crawl, some bloom unseen. All belong to the quiet hours, and all remind me that the dark is far from empty.
You might need to travel a little way from me to meet them in person — along the criss-crossing footpaths that bless our parish, or up among the nature reserves on Common Hill.
But they’re all part of the same night, stitched together by moonlight and memory.
Come, lean closer. Let me tell you who’s here.
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1. Mullein
Mullein stands tall through the dark months, its pale stem catching what little light the night allows. Once used for torches and lamp wicks, it’s still linked with the dark — a plant shaped by the night and by the creatures, like the Mullein Moth, that depend on it.
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2. Brimstone Moth
The Brimstone Moth flies at night from spring to autumn, its pale yellow wings glowing faintly in torchlight. Drawn to lamps and moonlit hedges, it moves quickly and quietly, a reminder that darkness isn’t empty but alive with subtle, fluttering life.
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3. Badger
Badgers are built for the night. Emerging after dusk, they follow well-worn paths to hunt worms, beetles and fruit by smell and touch. Their quiet, deliberate lives unfold almost entirely in darkness — a reminder that the countryside keeps working long after we’ve gone inside.
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4. White Campion
White Campion opens its petals at dusk, releasing a sweet scent to draw in night-flying moths. Its pale flowers seem to glow after dark, feeding the pollinators that take over when the day’s insects rest — a small, steady light in the night’s quieter hours.
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5. Tawny Owl
The Tawny Owl is the night’s voice — its soft duet of “too-wit, too-woo” echoing through woodland after dark. With near-silent wings and eyes made for low light, it hunts and nests by night, keeping ancient watch while the rest of the countryside sleeps.
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6. Glow-worm
Glow-worms are beetles that shine at night. The females glow with a soft green light to attract the flying males — a signal powered by bioluminescence. Their brief summer display reminds us that true darkness isn’t empty at all, but full of small, living lights.
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7. Orion
Orion dominates the winter sky, his three-star belt the key to finding his bright shoulders and feet. Betelgeuse glows orange, Rigel burns blue, and together they guide anyone out after dark — a steady companion when the nights are long and the world is quiet beneath him.
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8. Hedgehog
Hedgehogs wake at dusk to feed on beetles, worms and fallen fruit, travelling far under cover of darkness. They hibernate through the cold months, returning each spring to their night-time rounds — quiet, practical caretakers of the countryside while the rest of us sleep.
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9. Evening Primrose
Evening Primrose opens its yellow flowers at dusk, releasing a sweet scent that draws in night-flying moths. Each bloom lasts just one night before another takes its place — a plant shaped perfectly for darkness, lighting up the quiet hours with colour, fragrance, and quiet purpose.
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10. Ursa Major (The Plough)
Ursa Major holds the familiar Plough, but that “saucepan” is only the back and tail of the Great Bear. Follow its stars and you’ll see the full creature circling the North Star — a steady guide in every season, watching over the night while the world turns quietly beneath it.
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11. Cockchafer
Cockchafers are large beetles that take to the air on warm May nights, buzzing clumsily around lights and trees. After years underground as larvae, their short adult lives belong to the dark — noisy, harmless, and vital to the night’s food chain of bats, owls and hedgehogs.
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12. Long-eared Bat
Long-eared bats emerge at dusk, flying slowly and silently through trees in search of moths and beetles. Their huge ears pick up the faintest sounds in the dark, helping them hunt and navigate — a reminder that the night hums with life we rarely see or hear.
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13. Elephant Hawk-moth
The Elephant Hawk-moth flies on warm summer nights, feeding on honeysuckle and willowherb. Its vivid pink and green wings flash brightly even in low light, while its large caterpillar with false “eye spots” feeds at dusk — a splash of colour and life in the quiet dark.
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14. Honeysuckle
Honeysuckle saves its best for the night, releasing a rich scent after sunset to draw in moths like the Elephant Hawk-moth. Its pale flowers glow faintly in the dark, feeding the nocturnal world and proving that the night has its own kind of sweetness.
With thanks to Wye Valley National Landscape for funding the bench, and to The Fownhope Flag for a contribution towards the design work. The idea that eventually became the bench — and this from the Dark Skies bench website — began in the Parish Council’s Environment Group.