The wealth of plant life meant that the pace of the walk was BEES snail but we were rewarded with particularly beautiful stands of betony and marsh helleborine as well as common and marsh fragrant orchids in profusion, including white versions of the common. In total over 130 plants in flower were recorded by Joan and Alice which included twayblade, rest-harrow, field gentian, black bog-rush and saw-wort. Despite the sunny conditions, butterflies were not very numerous and we recorded only six species. Likewise, bird numbers were not great but we were entertained by two circling buzzards for some time and as the (relatively) faster walkers waited for the botanists to catch up at the end of the walk we enjoyed watching a spotted flycatcher teaching its young how to catch flies whilst a redstart flew past as willow warblers flitted amongst the trees. The final total of 17 bird species also included tree pipit. As the group gathered to prepare for our departure we were lucky enough to spot a red squirrel running through the branches of nearby trees. This made a fine ending to a very enjoyable walk.
We had planned to visit another nearby site, but time was running short and so we headed back towards home taking the scenic route via Kirkby Stephen, Hawes, Ribblehead and Horton-in-Ribblesdale to Skipton in glorious sunshine. In Skipton, in a repetition of the year’s previous extended day out, we headed to Bizzies for a fish and chip treat before wending our way back to Bradford.
We had enjoyed a lovely outing and were grateful to Julia and John for the planning and leadership of the day.
Stuart