Not so rare

Sunday 4th April 2010.
    The golden saxifrage as always held my attention in the early spring with its green and yellow splashes of colour in woodland flushes, wet rocks and stream sides and yesterday we found several displays of this delicate flower on our walk with our friends in the Ribble valley. I've always been aware that there are two types of this plant ...The Opposite leaved and the Alternate leaved both look identical at first glance,  but because the flower books state that the alternate leaved type is rare I've never really looked  at it closely  until this year,these are my observations up to now......The Alternate Leaved Golden Saxifrage seems to grow in the Limestone areas of our local countryside and I've found quite a few sites , the Opposite Leaved  Golden Saxifrage only seems to be present  in Millstone Grit, Sandstone areas and soils with a higher acid content. I've found Both species growing within a short distance of each other in just one location I can only assume the soil is more neutral and suitable for both types.The opposite leaved species grows around my top pond in the garden.

             A good showing of the Opposite Leaved Golden Saxifrage

                  A site of the Alternate Leaved Golden Saxifrage

                                

                                             Alternate leaved

                                             Opposite leaved

                       Opposite leaved around the top garden pond

Easter Monday afternoon.5th April 2010
       
     A short distance over the Pennines into Yorkshire this afternoon and a quick walk down into Hardcastle Crags comfirmed that all the Golden Saxifrage growing in this humid wooded valley (and theres' plenty of it) was the opposite leaved  species, it's what I would expected because this is a valley of Millstone Grit and Acid soils.

                                      Hardcastle Crags

                            Draping down in dripping conditions

  

        Opposite Leaved Golden Saxifrage growing in ideal conditions

One of my favourite walks

Sat.3rd April 2010
       Today has felt a real Spring day and things are on the move.This short walk down Twiston Beck lying under the shadow of Pendle hill is one of my favourites in our area especially in springtime, spring is always a bit earlier in this limestone valley because of its lower altitude near to the Ribble Valley. It's this valley that I also visit in the late Autumn to watch the Salmon spawning.

                                                 Pendle Hill

           Worsaw Hill the setting for many of the scenes in the film ....
          "Whistle Down the Wind"

 The early spring flowers we found today down Twiston Beck.

 

                                           Twiston Beck

                                                    Primrose

                                                    Ramsons

                                      Alternate- leaved Golden Saxifrage

                                          Lesser Celandine

                                                    Coltsfoot

                                               Wood Anemone

                                          Butterbur

Two wet and wintery days in Borrowdale

Friday 2nd April 2010.
      We've just arrived home after spending 3 nights in Keswick in the Lake District in our motor home. Generally we're lucky with the weather but not this time it rained all day on our first walk and on the second day we had the snow, being on the edge of the wintery weather which effected Scotland and Ireland.Both our walks were fairly low level because of the low cloud on the first day and the snow on the second day

  The first walk was from Rosthwaite in Borrowdale via Watendlath tarn  following the valley down to Ashness Bridge and then back along the fell side to Keswick about 7.5 miles.

 

Rosthwaite in Upper Borrowdale

 

                 Watendlath, the view on many a calendar

                     Shepherds Crag overlooking Derwent Water

                      Ashness Bridge and in  the distance Skiddaw

                                        Golden Saxifrage

                                 Along the fellside back to Keswick

                 The high water mark of last autumns terrible floods

       Our second walk..... from Seatoller in Upper Borrowdale along the fell side back to Keswick about 9.5 miles.

  Our motorhome on the Caravanning and Camping Club Site at Keswick

 

                                          Above Seatoller 

                      Along the fell to Castle Crag  (centre distance)

                                 Rosthwaite in Upper Borrowdale

                                                Castle Crag

                                        Climbing Castle Crag

                                Upper Borrowdale from Castle crag

                      River Derwent and the Borrowdale Woods

                    A wintery scene looking across to the Cat Bells.

A few Shots from The Town Cass Keswick the following morning (Thurs 1st April)

                                         The Cat Bells