Spider at the fair

Frogham, New Forest This spider was both beautiful and docile, but not to be taken for granted

As spiders go, this one certainly has wow factor. It's mid-afternoon at the annual Frogham Fair. The lilt of Irish folk music drifts across as crowds line the arena to watch dogs and their handlers show off their skills - and children and grown-ups are recruited to become volunteer equipment as part of the entertainment. But our focus is on a creature many of those entranced by the show would turn away from in horror.

We were introduced to it on the hand of 11-year-old Elian Day, a young naturalist who has been more interested in what is in the hedges of the adjacent field than in the veteran cars proudly displayed in it.