NORTH DOWNS & BEYOND

Those of you who are regular visitors to this blog (and thank you if you are) will by now be familiar with Langley Vale Farm, an area on the Surrey downs that is blessed with a terrific arable flora. I do go on about it quite a lot... To cut a long story short the farm has been purchased by the Woodland Trust (WT) who are managing the land and aiming to have 60% of it as woodland - currently this figure stands at 20%. There have been many meetings; environmental impact assessments made; working parties formed; correspondence sent and received. I have been heartened that these processes have alerted the WT to the presence of the rare flora and that it has been recognised by them as not only of national importance but also in need of protection. The WT, in consultation with Plantlife, have agreed to implement plans to ensure that it survives. I have been impressed by their willingness to do so, as the WT's existence is not to be the custodians of rare wild flowers. They could ha...

The grey, wet murk of the past few days had finally sodded off and ND&B-land found itself basking in a low, blinding sun. Out came the bins, on went the ruck-sack and I hot-footed it up to Epsom and Walton Downs for a mornings aimless wander. I needn't have taken the bins as the birding was dire. However, as befitting a winter's morning playing at being spring, I sought out a patch of Green Hellebore that is present in a small wood on the lower slopes of Walton Downs. Only a couple of flowers were open (above) with most of the small population a little way off from flowering (below). The Woodland Trust seem to have upped the ante in the creation of their Millennium Woodland on parts of the downland farm fields ( click here to find out more about this project ). Piles of posts and plastic tubing were lying in strategic positions, but the dead give-away were a number of posters along the public footpaths, inviting volunteers to come along for tree-planting sessions la...

Langley Vale Farm, that nestles close to Epsom Downs race course, is a botanical jewel. Unfortunately, it might just become a former botanical jewel. Up until a couple of years ago all of the field margins were ploughed and game cover strips were maintained for pheasant shooting. These margins played host to a wonderful selection of arable plants, a disappearing group of flowers that cannot survive with the application of modern agricultural methods. My personal list of species recorded here is wonderful: Field Gromwell, Venus's-looking-glass, Night-flowering Catchfly (left, photographed there in 2006), Sharp-leaved Fluellen, Round-leaved Fluellen, Cat-mint, Rough Poppy, Narrow-fruited Cornsalad, Small Toadflax, Dwarf Spurge - enough to get even the most hardened of botanists salivating! Last year Red Hemp-nettle was found, a true rarity in Surrey. The farm came up for sale two years ago and was purchased by the Woodland Trust, whose worthy aim is to plant a woodland to commemo...