Orchids Everywhere

Thursday 12th June 2014
                       We've just arrived back from a 4 weeks holiday in S.W.England and have enjoyed our wonderful British Spring at its best. My apologies for not viewing your wonderful posts and commenting on them. Since arriving home my computer isn't bringing up on my screen all your latest posts so until it's sorted out I'm unable to view them.
                             Our wild orchids in our garden have now starting to open and at today's count we've almost reached 100.
          My son bought me a Hybrid Slipper Orchid very similar to our rare native Lady's-Slipper Orchid so I'll try to naturalize it in our garden after it's flowered.
           We've been out in our local countryside and it looks as if it's going to be another bumper year for our wild orchids.

      Positioned in its pot the Slipper Orchid sits well in its surroundings

The wild flowers and the first of this years orchids in our garden

A good group of Bee Orchids up in Ribblesdale

Higher up the dale at Ribblehead a large colony of orchids, a mixture of Northern Marsh, Heath Spotted and Common Spotted orchids and all the cross pollinated hybrids.

                                                  Twayblade

                                         Bird's-Eye Primrose

Strolling Through our English Bluebell Woods (Film)

Thursday 8th May 2014.
       During the past 2 weeks we've enjoyed the magical spectacle of being able to stroll through the delights of our local Bluebell woods here in N.W. England.  Having photographed them I then decided to record this annual event on video, so armed with my H.D video camera we retraced our walks and recorded our local wild flower speciality.

Rocks and Soils of West Yorkshire

Monday 5th May 2014
                During the last few days we've walked in areas within a 20 miles radius of our home in East Lancashire. Depending on the aspect and altitude of our walks it's made a great difference to the glorious Bluebell displays we've seen. Some have been fully out for more than a week whilst others in the cloughs and deep valleys of the Pennines are just starting to open, so the floral displays in these various locations really do extend the season.
              What is also very noticeable is the types of rock in our area, the alkaline limestone woods carry many more flowers amongst the Bluebells compared to the hard acidic millstone grit woodland areas.

           

A mixture of Early Purple Orchid, Primrose,Cowslip and Anemone growing in the alkaline soil amongst the Bluebells

      Compare this to the acid soil woodlands around Hebden Bridge in the deeper valleys and cloughs

The bluebells are only just opening in these colder Pennine valleys and the only flower growing amongst them with any merit is the Pink Purslane

If the valley lacks the variety of flowers it makes up for it with the dozens of Hairy Wood Ant nests around Gibsons Mill at Hard Castle Crags

 A quick sketch in oils looked looked quite accomplished from this distance

Which type of woodland do I prefer?, there's no easy answer but I think I,ll go for the Limestone Woodland because of the variety of flora

• 
  

Limestone Woodland

Sunday 4th May 2014
                    Yesterday was another lovely spring day perfect for a visit to the limestone woodlands around Feizer in Yorkshire  I didn't take many pictures because I was concentrating on film shots for my Bluebell film. The woodland floor was covered with a mixture of Bluebells,Primroses,Cowslips,Wood Anemone and Early Purple Orchids.  Over the years we've looked for a flower that up to now has always eluded us, the unusual flower......HERB PARIS, it's not a particular rare flower but it's taken us over 20 years to find it, but yesterday we found it growing along a lane towards the end of our walk.

                                      Early Purple Orchids

                                         Wood Anemone

                        Walkers couldn't resist taking a picture

                                    The elusive Herb Paris

Our Lancashire Bluebell Woods

Sunday 27th April 2014
                       We couldn't resist a short Sunday walk down into the Ribble Valley around Hurst Green with our friends to see the beauty of the English Bluebell Wood. I think we found the timing about perfect the flowers were around their best and probable in a few days time they will begin to fade and the best of the show will be over for another year. What the photos can't convey is the delicate fragrance they produce as the breeze gentle blows through the woods.

             I feel a very short  film will be made before the flowers fade

       

Easter up in Wensleydale

Friday 25th April 2014
                      We've  been walking again in Wensleydale during Easter and we stayed at the Caravan Club site at Hawes in our motor home. This dale is less than 50 miles north from where we live but it's noticeable that spring is around 2 weeks behind our area because we live in a more favourable area on the western side of the Pennines. The area is good for walking and is served by a bus service that runs down the dale several times a day, so with a bit of planning longer non-circular walks can be undertaken always knowing that bus service which is very reliable will bring you back to base at the end of a longish day.
                      Here are just a view photos from our walks in this lovely working dale, with a bit of information given where needed.

    Hawes on market day this is where we catch the bus most mornings

Some of the flagged paths and narrow stiles which are a feature in many parts of the Yorkshire Dales

Across the dale the Roman Road called Cam High Road descends down to Bainbridge

                            Down the Roman Road to Bainbridge

                                    Bainbridge village green

           The River Bain ( the shortest river in England......supposedly)

                               The footprint of the Roman Fort

                                       Lambing Time

           The paths follows the wooded escarpments ( known as Scars)

                          The walk finishes in the village of Askrigg

                                          The main street

For those who are old enough to remember, this building is very famous and is known over many parts of the world as the frontage used for the vets practise in the filming of  "All Creature Great and Small". JamesHerriot, Seigfried Farnon and Triston all graced the front steps and led us to beleieve they actually lived here.

    Another Walk from Askrigg down the side of the dale to Bolton Castle

                              Through the Old Lead Mines

                                         Lower Wensleydale

                                   Nearing Bolton Castle

Bolton Castle built in the !4th century.  Mary,Queen of Scots stayed

here for 6 months (imprisonment really)

                        Our first orchids of the year near Leyburn

Today we follow the River Ure up Wensleydale to Aysgarth passing Bolton Hall

                                          Young Goslings

                                Glacial moraine landscape

                                        Violets in the woods

                                           Redmire Force

                       The ascent of Penhill from West Witton

                             West Witton below in the valley

                               Looking east to the Vale of York

                         Along Penhill's Ridge...... a lovely walk

                         Descending down towards Bolton Castle

Two old stone coffins in the remains of an old graveyard in an ancient protected monument site

                        The end of the walk at Aysgarth Falls

                                      Aysgarth Church

           On the Grouse Moors between Wensleydale and Swaledale

                                     The rare Golden Plover

                                            Grouse Butts

                           Spent cartridges from last years shoot

                                   Back down into Wensleydale

           Easter Sunday Lunch at the George in Thoralby, Bishopdale

                                           Sunday roast

           followed by Hot Lemon Sponge, Lemon Sauce and Ice cream

                 A busy Easter Sunday in West Burton, Bishopdale

                      Some of the Spring Flowers on the walk

                                               Colt's-foot

                                        The first Bluebells

                                         Wood Anemone

                                                Primrose

                                       

                                            Cowslip

And finally two Hybrids..... a cross between the Primrose and Cowslip ...The false Oxslip