A quiet corner of N.W. England

Wed 5th May 2010.

         Last week we spent 5 days in this lovely corner of England  in our motorhome on a small farm site. Most of this countryside lies in Lancashire but it does continue over the border into Cumbria.This is pretty countryside on mainly limestone with its limestone walls, woodland, a network of paths  and quiet country lanes ,a lovely place to discover the abundance of early spring flowers both on foot and by bike. I won't name all the flowers because some of them are common but they were pleasing to the eye after the ravages of winter.

Brackenthwaite Farm

                                   Gait Barrow nature reserve
 The woods in this area were full of Primroses, Cowslips, Wood Anemones, Violets and the first bluebells

               False Oxslip a cross between a Primrose and a Cowslip

                                           Wood Violets

                                        Wood Anemones

                                        Wood Sorrel

                                             Ramsons

Lady's Smock 

   Stitchwort (a plant that needs to grow in grass for support)

                                               Red Campion

And finally the start  of the orchid season, after looking on Arnside knott the orchids had not developed to the flowering stage but over on Warton Crag there were dozens of them in full flower.

                                    Near the top of Arnside Knott

                             Morecambe Bay from Warton Crag

           The first of the this years orchids... The Early Purple Orchid

Finally I think this is a cross with a type of Marsh Orchid the flowers are a different shape