Eridge Rocks

Eridge Rocks,  26 April 2018

This part of the High Weald has quite a few sandstone cliffs and outcrops, something we did not have in the Hayes area where I used to live.  That area was mostly on chalk or gravel.  Eridge Rocks consists of about 600 metres of what you see here, a small but impressive cliff.  You can walk out along the bottom, where these photos were taken from, and back along the top. 

Eridge Rocks,  26 April 2018

Today, the Sussex Wildlife Trust led a walk along the rocks and through the woodland they sit in.  It's a designated Site of Special Scientific Interest for the mosses, liverworts, ferns and lichens that grow on the rocks.  Climbers come here too, and you can see their chalk on some of the drier rocks.

I expect it counts as a cheat if you go up that dead tree.

Eridge Rocks,  showing the erosion patterns.  26 April 2018

Erosion has produced cracks in two directions, and a lot of unusual honeycomb patterns on the surface. 

The Victorians loved this place and apparently were known to have dined out here in luxury at least once.  The people who care for the rocks have had to remove a lot of Rhododendron (the Victorians loved Rhododendrons) and now they try to keep the damper rock faces in dappled shade.  This lets the mosses, etc get some light without being shaded out or burnt dry. 

The surrounding woods are full of bluebells.

Woods by Eridge Rocks, 26 April 2018.

Not quite fully out yet, but nearly.  I saw a number of other ancient woodland indicator plants too, such as Redcurrant and

Yellow Pimpernel, Lysimachia nemorum.  Woods near  Eridge Rocks, 26 April 2018.

Yellow Pimpernel, which likes to grow beside paths.

We saw quite a few beeflies, some hoverflies, bumble bees and a couple of butterflies. 

Beefly, Bombylius major.  Woods near  Eridge Rocks, 26 April 2018.

Interesting woods - I'll be back.

Woods by Eridge Rocks, 26 April 2018.

Another Thorn!

Purple Thorn, Selenia tetralunaria.  In my garden light trap on 21 April 2018.

Thorns are my choice for the UK's most dramatically beautiful moths.  This one was in my light trap, but flew out and landed on my fence while I was looking in.

I have had a few colourful species recently - about time, after such a slow start to the year.  Here's a Pine Beauty:

Pine Beauty, Panolis flammea.  In my garden light trap on 21 April 2018.

It's the first time I have seen one.  But I knew it as soon as I saw it.  It's unmistakeable.

Herald, Scoliopteryx libatrix.  In my garden light trap on 21 April 2018.

This Herals is an old favourite.  It's one of those moths that hibernates in garages and outbuildings.  There were two in my trap this time.

Finally ...

Early Thorn, Selenia dentaria.  In my garden light trap on 21 April 2018.

An Early Thorn, more brightly coloured than the one I showed in March.  I'll stop repeating Thorns now.

Walshes Park

Alder Brook, Walshes Park, Crowborough, 2 April 2018.

Walshes Park in Crowborough is almost a secret.  A huge, empty secret.  It's a new park, and it's not mentioned in the town guide booklet, and although it's easy to find a map on line you can spend some time looking for any information about how to get in.

I found a passing mention of a small car park eventually.  This car park is very small, with room for 3 or perhaps 4 cars.  Walshes Park itself is large and open, a shallow dome on a south-facing clay slope, crossed by a footpath and a few mature hedge lines.  Paths have been laid out around it, and some of those have been gravelled.  A stream, the Alder Brook, runs along one edge.

There are plans to open up the river bank and increase access.  That seems to be why some mature alders have been felled, though no thought seems to have been given to preserving the local ecology.  Once I knew what to look for it was easy to find some information ... Trees Felled at Alderbrook. The photo above shows where those alders used to grow.

Alder Brook, Walshes Park, Crowborough, 2 April 2018.

Here's another look at the brook.

Anyway .. I went for a look round.  The weather was wet, lots of rain recently.  It was raining when I took these photos.

Gravelled path in Walshes Park, Crowborough, 2 April 2018.

Some of the gravel paths are going to need regular maintenance.  The general feeling is of open ground, but when it's dryer I will have a look at some of the wooded land around the edges.  

Meanwhile .. at the moment it is really wet ...

A rushy slope in Walshes Park, Crowborough, 2 April 2018.

Rushes don't grow in such profusion if the ground is not always moist.

Quite a bit of preparation has been done.

A laid hedge in Walshes Park, Crowborough, 2 April 2018.

I saw more than one carefully laid hedge - this is where thorn bushes have all had had a cut made in their trunks and been bent over, and the stems and branches woven into a lattice of uprights.  It grows into a thick impenetrable hedgerow.   It's not clear to me what this is intended to achieve in this park, unless some grazing is planned for the future.  It takes some time and expertise to make these hedges well.

I'll be back to see how this changes with the seasons.