NORTH DOWNS & BEYOND

I spent a most enjoyable day on Epsom Common, taking part in the LNHS bryophytes field meeting that was lead most successfully by Peter Howarth. As a virtual beginner in this area, it was most instructive to be shown a succession of common species and being talked through the identification of them in an unhurried and patient way. My scribbling into a notebook of the latin names was aided by clear annunciation, as my transcribing was done phonetically and not one name caused me a problem when I deciphered my notes this evening. I won't list them all here, suffice to say that I was most probably shown 45+ species. Now comes the hard part - going through my mosses and liverworts field guide, to try and ensure that some of what I've been shown today will stick. I was doubly fortunate as I finally met up with all-round good bloke and fellow pan-lister Seth Gibson (that's him taking a picture of a tree trunk full of bryophytes). His sharpness in the field was regularly demon...

I took a day's holiday today, and rather than look at empty fields at Canons Farm, drown in mud at Beddington or dodge the dog's mess at Holmethorpe, I thought that I'd try and bump my moss list up and took myself off to Friday Street in deepest Surrey. The area is on the Lower Greensand and is characterised by wooded heath with muddy mire valleys. The narrow lanes wind through steep banks which are festooned with ferns and mosses (see above). It's all quite dark and oppressive for an open downland boy like me, more like a scene from a Tolkien novel rather than that of a Hardy... How did I get on? I don't know yet. I took plenty of pictures and had the 'Mosses and Liverworts' guide with me, but have yet to seriously try and sort out the evidence. I'll get back to you.