Twenty
years or so ago, if I saw a hill, I felt an irresistible urge to
climb it. Now, older and wiser, I have come to realise that majestic
mountains and fabulous fells look at their most majestic and fabulous
when they’re towering above you. True, when you get to the top, the
views can be breathtaking, but these days, by the time I get to the
top, I’ve not got a lot of breath left to take. Which is why I’ve
decided to introduce the idea of Fell Walking For Wimps. No-one else
appears to have bagged the title yet, so I’m having it.
Our
little walk today takes us up over Slate Fell, to the East of
Cockermouth, then back round to where we started, in a five mile
triangle. Unlike Scafell Pike, England’s highest mountain (also in
Cumbria), which rises to a little over
3,200 feet, Slate Fell is a far more modest 520 feet, and as we are
starting at 220 feet then we are merely going to be strolling up hill
at the start.
About
three quarters of the way up now, and this little bank looks worthy
of closer investigation. Let’s sit and take a closer look at it.
No, it is not just an excuse for a rest. I’m still fighting fit.
Starting with the yellow flowers which are not dandelions [dandelions
have hollow, often pinkish, stems]. These are more closely related to
chicory, look at the leaves. I see that there’s a bumblebee taking
advantage of this pit-stop to refuel. That
little mauve flower up the bank is wild thyme. There are two species
generally to be found in Cumbria, Thymus
praecox
and Thymus
serpyllum. I
think this is the former. Combined with parsley, in a white sauce,
it’s terrific with fish. One for Steve's
Wild Kitchen when
I eventually get the keys to my new flat. But, back to our bankside,
even this scrap of sheep’s wool isn’t devoid of interest. There
are tiny flies in it looking for even smaller things to eat. OK,
that’s enough rest, um, investigating, for the moment. Onwards and
upwards.
Naturalists,
as you probably know, have an unhealthy preoccupation with dung. I’m
no different, and I’ve noticed a lot of cow pats up here, so, let’s
find a nice, sloppy one and see who’s at home. Flies,
as you would expect, but a bit prettier than your common house fly.
The big one, with a flash of orange on her wings is a Noon Fly
(because you often see them in the middle of the day),
and the little greeny/gold job is a Yellow Dung Fly. Both of these
flies lay their eggs in this nutrient rich cow dung and their maggots
help in its decomposition, ensuring that we’re not wandering about
knee deep in the stuff. The other little fellow is a Water Scavenger
Beetle. Most
Water Scavengers are aquatic, as their name suggests, but these are
specialists. They also lay their eggs in cow dung, but their larvae
don’t eat the dung, they feed on the maggots of the flies. There’s
a whole world of life going on in a cow pat.
We’ve
now reached the Embleton road and we’re going to take a quick right
turn and change from footpath to bridleway. That’s it, stretching
out before us and there’s far more plant life as it is ungrazed.
Quite a pharmacy in fact. For a start, we have some Selfheal, which
the Native Americans use to treat boils, cuts and inflammations.
Mixed with other herbs, such as mint, which we also have in here, it
is supposed to be effective against halitosis. Mint, as well as being
a good culinary herb, is well known for easing an upset stomach, and
we also have some Wild Angelica here. You have to be very careful
with this one as it looks so much like other umbilifers such as Cow
Parsley and Hogweed. Up
until the
20th
century, both
the stems and leaves were used as a vegetable and, medicinally, it
was used to cure scurvy.
Here
we are at the end of the bridleway and it’s about three miles back
along country roads. It may not look too interesting but there’s a
magnificent hedgerow and verge, a habitat in decline across the UK,
and just
to prove it’s importance we’re going to count the number of
different plant and insect species that we see. Firstly we have some
Ox-eye daisies being pollinated by various flies and wasps, including
this lovely Marmalade Hoverfly. These are marvellous little flies
that overwinter in the Mediterranean and then come all the way up
here for the spring and summer in a multi-generational leap. We’ll
record this one for the Marmalade
Hoverfly Monitoring Scheme which is keeping an eye on them as
indicators of the effects of climate change among other things. Next
we have something which you may not recognise as an insect at all.
These pompoms on a wild rose stem are the product of the Mossy Rose
Gall Wasp. These
are taken advantage of by another species of gall wasp that lays its
eggs in the nutritious bundle, and the larvae of both wasps are
likely to have two more wasp species lay their eggs in them! Finally,
the whole lot may be eaten by a small mammal in a sort of two wasp
roast. Some
more ox-eye daisies now, this one being pollinated by our little
friend from the cow pat, the Yellow Dung Fly, taking on some much
needed fuel and down here, taking a rest in the grass, is a Shaded
Broad-Bar moth.
I
make that 43 different plants and 22 different insects. This will
provide food for numerous small mammals (and big ones, I saw you
stuffing yourself with blackberries along the way),
as well as an important corridor between habitats.
Just
a short stroll now, back to our starting point, but we’ll just
pause at this little bridge over Tom Rudd Beck to look at the
handiwork of the local children, commemorating this strange old year.
Quick
admin note: I’ve changed the style of the blog to make it clearer
and easier to follow by email or feed.
Until
next week,
Stay
safe and be happy,
Steve
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All
you need to know to identify any type of insect, spider, worm or
snail very simply and find out more about it.
Yvonne:
This
was a gift for a family so that the children can understand what
they see on days out. The second was for me. Logical and easy to
use. If you know anyone who likes nature you can be confident that
gifting this book will give years of pleasure.
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The
Eggs of Saramova
A
science fiction novella for those who don't like science fiction.
A fast-paced thriller that is, literally, out of this world (and
it starts right here in Crete).
Too
new for reviews yet!
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|
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A
light-hearted look at life through the eyes of the fairer sex.
Janet:
If
you are short on time but enjoy reading and are maybe not into
long extended novels then Not Just For... Twisted Women provides
readers with concise stories that stand alone and most certainly
entertain with their ultimate twists. Loved it.
Helen:
A
very good read! Well written and entertaining!
Margaret:
Each
quick tale gives a glimpse into a character's life and has an
often humorous twist at the end. I would love to read more.
Yvonne:
These
days many people find it hard to find the time to read a novel, so
this book of short stories is ideal to dip into. It is also makes
a good gift.
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See
sample pages of all my books and latest blogs, and keep abreast of
latest publications here:
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