WFV Saltholme RSPB reserve Tuesday 4th October 2011
Margaret
Margaret
14 of us enjoyed our morning visit to the gardens of Littlethorpe Manor which had been arranged for us by Janet who unfortunately was still on jury service - we were, however, ably looked after by Philip. Littlethorpe Manor which is situated on the outskirts of Ripon has 11 acres of grounds and is owned by Mr and Mrs Thackray. We were given a guided tour by Eddie Harland, head gardener (who was responsible for the design and planting of the garden), following tea and cake in the marquee. The gardens were quite stunning! We passed from the Walled Garden divided into sections representing the four seasons with appropriate flowers and sculptures into the Sunken garden consisting of a box parterre and containing interesting fruit trees, medlar and kiwi as well as old roses and herbs. Passing through the front of the house we walked into the drive with an aqualens surrounded by hornbeams. We crossed the lawns admiring a magnificent walnut tree. The vista in front of the house which included a lake with a fountain and an avenue of pollared rubra lime trees which led to a pond and classical pavillion was stunning. The Winter Garden which we visited is a recent addition with white Himalayan birch, beech hedges and colourful dogwood shrubs. There was so much to see and appreciate. In the afternoon we enjoyed a stroll down a section of the Ripon canal with brief stops at the bird hides which overlooked a large lake. Greylag geese, cormorant ,coot, lapwing and great crested grebe were seen. Late summer flowers were noted by Joan and Alice. A relaxing and enjoyable day was had by all. The day started with some rain but ended in sunshine.
Margaret
Margaret
Stuart
Margaret
Our second extended day out of the season took us to Smardale Gill in South Cumbria, a nature reserve managed by the Cumbria Wildlife Trust. A full minibus plus 3 travelling by car were met by Stuart's cousin and his son, Martin and George who were our butterfly experts for the day. Having parked up near Smardale Hall, we walked along the long, straight path, a disused railway line that now provides considerable botanical interest. There was an abundance of enchanter's nightshade with its delicate white flowers. Wood and bloody cranesbill were both evident. The wintergreen had finished flowering but was seen in fruit. The fragrant orchid was indeed deliciously fragrant. The bird count is not even worth mentioning. A woodpecker was heard, but the birds were not putting in an appearance. However, this trip was all about the butterflies. Several were seen including red admiral, small heath, dark green fritillary, and common blue, but the star species was undoubtedly the scotch argus. Smardale Gill is one of only two sites in England where this butterfly can be seen. As our path cut through steeper grassy banks, we started to see the scotch argus in small numbers. Where the path ended and we reached the viaduct, there seemed to be masses of them on the steep grassy hillside. The 130 foot high viaduct with twelve arches crossing Scandal Beck is very impressive and the surrounding landscape was stunning. Autumn gentian was seen just across the viaduct. At the start of the day it had felt a little cool, but we were blessed with sunshine and the temperature rose nicely through the day. Some of the group did longer walks and got as far as the packhorse bridge. A total of 162 plants were recorded. Several moths were also seen today including the shaded broad bar, the antler moth and the iron prominent. Having enjoyed a fantastic day, we set off to the Craven Arms in Giggleswick for our evening meal. A lovely end to the day. Many thanks to the birthday boy Stuart for leading the day, to Margaret for organising the meal and to Martin and George for sharing their butterfly expertise.
Sue
Interesting wetland plants, dragonflies, the history of Doncaster, these were the themes for our Bees outing today and they were explored by our group. Cusworth Park is a country park managed by Doncaster council containing two lakes and an extensive parkland area on the outskirts of Doncaster. The elegent Georgian mansion was once the home of the Battle Wrightson family and is now a museum representing the social and economic history of the hall and Doncaster area. Doncaster, as well as being a mining area, became famous for "the Plant" the locomotive works where some magnificent steam engines were designed and built. It was a warm, overcast day with sunshine appearing in the afternoon. 13 of us were hoping for something relaxing not too strenuous, perhaps a cup of tea and cake in the tea room at the end of the day. Our morning walk was led by Eric and Joan and involved a hunt for green-flowered helleborine in the woodland beyond the lake. Several specimens were eventually located in a grassy area by the side of the path. The ground was exceedingly dry and several plants were in fruit displaying their bright red berries. The lakeside proved productive for several "newish" plants including fan-leaved water crowfoot, trifid bur marigold, sweet flag, marestail, black harehound and common fleabane. The dragonflies were the emperor and hawker species. Butterfly species included speckled wood, green-veined white and gatekeeper. Swans, coot and mallard were seen with their young on the lake. We were back in Bradford in no time having enjoyed a good day out.
Margaret
Stuart
This week's trip was to the relatively local destination of the Healey Dell Nature Reserve in Rochdale. On arrival, the nearly full minibus was welcomed by the ranger, Richard. We were invited in to the rangers' office where we could make use of the facilities and were kindly provided with a hot drink before we enjoyed a very informative slideshow visual tour of the reserve. Following lunch Richard led us on a guided walk around the reserve pointing out the features of interest and patiently letting us stop and botanise as we wished. Healey Dell is a steep sided woodland carved out by the River Spodden and there is much archaelogocical interest due to past association with the textile trade. Key archaeological features include the stone rubbing mill where local stone was rubbed, polished and finished. Th'Owd Mill I'th Thrutch consists of twin bridges which were the site of a fulling mill in the 17th century. A disused railway line over a 100 foot viaduct affords fine views of the reserve. The setting with several waterfalls was very beautiful. It was a quiet day with regard to birds - only about 15 were recorded including jays. Dragonflies and damselflies were not evident in the largely dry but cool conditions. However, there was much to see from a botanical perspective. The most notable find was broad-leaved helleborine in flower. Numerous common spotted orchids were evident and many had grown very tall. Other interesting finds included dusky cranesbill and a large stand of chicory. 165 plants were recorded 115 of them in flower. 12 ferns/horsetails were noted. 4 butterflies were recorded including small skipper. Although the conditions were cool, it stayed mostly dry with just slight drizzle shortly before we were due to leave, but we had enjoyed a lovely day and we were very grateful to Richard for giving us so much of his time and sharing his knowledge of the reserve.
Sue
Margaret