We think this is a spiders nest, or a spider igloo, and we found it in the grasses at the edge of a dyke.
Hopefully it'll get bigger over the next few days and if the birds don't get in to it for a feed we'll report back on just how big it becomes. Last year we blogged about one that looked like Gandalf and that was about three feet high.
The boss will have to walk by on the other side of the path, so great is her fear of spiders she'll be convinced that they're lying in wait for her.
I wonder how big the spider is that built this igloo-like construction...