Is it a Garden Spider Araneus diadematus?
I’d say body and head together measure about 15mm (2/3 of an inch).
It was (still is) on the compost bin in our front garden here in central Cambridge with a web stretching across to the black bin – a distance of about 15cm (six inches).
When I raised the lid on the green bin it walked sideways along the web and then back again as I lowered the lid on the bin.
Reply from a spider expert
What you have there is a Garden Spider (Araneus diadematus). You can recognise it by the diamond-shaped abdomen (hence the scientific name), the banded legs, and also those white dots on the dorsal area. The colour of this species varies a lot which can lead to some confusion. They’re not dangerous, so you won’t need to move home.
Scientific name: Araneus diadematus
Size: Males up to 8mm, females up to 13mm
Distribution: Rare. Found throughout the UK
Months seen: June to October
Habitat: Found in hedgerows, woodlands and gardens
Food: Small invertebrates. Mostly flying insects which are caught in orb webs
Special features: Garden spiders are sometimes called Cross spiders on account of the white ‘+’ cross-shaped mark on the abdomen. They’re most frequently seen in September and October, when they reach adult size.
The females are usually seen upside-down in the centre of their circular webs, which they construct about a metre off the ground, in trees and hedges.
The colour of the abdomen is extremely variable. It can be anything from dark grey, through brown, orange, yellow to white. Usually at least five of the dots making up the cross marking are visible to some extent.
Garden Spiders lay their egg sacs on strong branches, fences, garden sheds or other structures in late summer and early autumn. The young spiderlings, which appear in spring and early summer look very different. Their bodies are bright yellow with a dark brown triangular patch on the abdomen.
Photograph Works 
Love it’s furry ‘face’ (abdominal decoration; )
LikeLike
Yes, that’s the giveaway for the species. Today I found the discarded skin on the bin that the spider had sloughed off. I prodded it a bit but decided not to look further in case the actual spider was around and now two-feet tall…
LikeLike
Ah… A mild case of Arachnophobia, David?; )
LikeLike
Just a joke, but I think a fight or flight reaction to scuttling spiders is built into the human DNA.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yup. And snakes
LikeLiked by 1 person
Poisonous Things in general? 😉
LikeLike
I was just about to say something similar because the spiders reminded me of an old Sherlock Holmes film that featured hundreds of spiders advancing across the floor in a darkened room and then a tiny South American Indian assassin creeping out with a blowdart gun.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Ooh, double trouble! lol
LikeLike
Basil Rathbone?
LikeLiked by 1 person
Absolutely. His films are actually running at the moment on TV on one of the minor movie channels in the early evening.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Have to love those old Classics: )
LikeLike
Yes, somehow they appeal. He was a great Holmes, wasn’t he.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I quite like Benedict Cumberbatch as well… : )
LikeLike
Me too.
LikeLike