Crosscanonby and Isel

 

The intention was to take Mattie for her first walk along the beach at Flimby, but with a force five gusting up the Solway Firth, she resembled not so much a dog on a lead, but a helium balloon on a string. We headed inland to the village of Crosscanonby to show her the delights of the countryside instead. Pheasants appeared and disappeared into the fields of waving wheat, their raucous cries startling her at every turn. Along the uncut field margins, Carder Bees were busy pollinating the clover.

As you know, I'm always on the hunt for plants to forage, but I was surprised to find this large stand of Fennel in the Cumbrian countryside. Fennel is indigenous to the Mediterranean, and it grew like a weed around my home in Crete. It has spread northwards throughout Europe and is not uncommon down south, here in England. This far north it's a rare find. I helped myself to a fair few fronds. It is also a traditional medicinal plant, good for digestive discomfort and as an eyewash. There were other old medicinals about as well: Herb Robert (liver and gall bladder) and Crosswort (rupture and rheumatism) also Cowslips and Sweet Woodruff, if you prefer your medicine fermented and poured into a glass,

Stinging nettles used to be used to treat rheumatism too (well, it took your mind off it at any rate) and makes good wine. Here though, it is being enjoyed by a whole host of Small Nettle Weevils.

The larvae of these beetles live underground and feed on nettle roots. As adults they come up and eat the leaves. It's not easy being a stinging nettle.

From Crosscanonby we travelled a little further inland to Isel for a walk by the Derwent. The Swifts were feeding above the river which brings me to the age old question: how do you tell the difference between a swift, a swallow and a martin, especially when they're high in the sky? It's all in the wings and tail. Wings first; if the wings are curved, it's a swift – if you lined them up wing tip to wing tip, they'd form a circle. With the other two, it's all in the tail; the swallow has two long tail feathers, streaming out behind and the martin has a short, forked tail.

And what did Mattie think of her first walk in the wild? Find out on Mattie'sPage!

I mentioned my home on Crete earlier. Christina and I spent 16 happy years there, before she succumbed to cancer in 2018. South east Crete is a beautiful place to live and the house is up for sale. Details are with the estate agent in nearby MakryGialos and can be viewed on line at Real Professionals Crete.

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Steve

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Witches, Woods and Wild Garlic

Copper Beech, Storey Gardens, Lancaster

 

Our local railway has been offering cheap day out fares recently, so we hoiked ourselves down to Parton station and took the beautifully scenic route down the west coast of Cumbria to Lancaster. No particular reason; just because it was there. Buried in the middle of the city are the small, but beautifully formed Storey Gardens, dominated by this magnificent Copper Beech. The other side of the wall houses the Tasting Garden, created by the American artist, Mark Dion.

Lancaster Castle

Next door to the gardens stands Lancaster Castle, with almost a thousand years of history behind it. This was where the Pendle Witch Trials were held back in 1612, when ten people, including two men, were convicted of witchcraft and hung upon the moors above the town.

Spring Wood, Whalley, Lancashire

There is a 51mile (82km) long-distance footpath called The Lancashire Witches Walk which runs between the Pendle Heritage Centre and Lancaster. A bit too long on a day trip, but we had occasion to be in the area again, a couple of days later, and stopped off at Spring Wood, Whalley to stretch our legs. As you can see, the woods were spectacular; carpeted throughout with bluebells and wild garlic. The wood is also the location of one of the ten tercet way markers, dedicated to the ten victims of the witch trials. This one is dedicated to Alizon Device, and if that name sounds familiar, along with two of the other 'witches' – Alice Nutter and Elizabeth Device, they were the inspiration for the fictional characters, Agnes Nutter and Anathema Device in Niel Gaiman & Terry Pratchett's Good Omens.

Asian Lady Beetle, Harmonia axyridis

In amongst the garlic, I found this little demon lurking. It is an Asian Lady Beetle, Harmonia axyridis (which sounds like another witch's name), also known in the UK as the Harlequin Ladybird. This is an invasive species that arrived in 2004. It is a voracious predator and is out competing our native ladybirds.

Miniature Schnauzer, 'Mattie'

And finally... an introduction. The forlorn looking bundle of fluff on the left is the 9 week old puppy that was the cause of our second sojourn southwards. We stopped off at Spring Wood on our way back from collecting her. Her name is Matilda (Mattie for short) and ten days later, as you can see from the photo on the right, she is anything but forlorn. In case you're wondering what breed she is, she's a Miniature Schnauzer, and I'm sure that she will feature in many more of my blogs in years to come.

I haven't had the space to do either the Pendle Witches or the Harlequin Ladybirds justice in this short blog, let alone the delights of Wild Garlic, but you can delve into any of these subjects by clicking on the picture links below.

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