Around Cudham in February

Cudham churchyard with sheep, 25 February 2012.

Another day out with the Orpington Field Club. This walk started and finished at Cudham. On our last visit there we went down into the valley to the west; this time we went eastwards, across the valley and through Newyears Wood.

The top photo is Cudham churchyard, in which those two sheep are grazing. This is a good way to manage grass length when the ground is as uneven as you see. All those small hummocks are old and overgrown ant nests.

On the edge of the recreation ground was an Alder, full of catkins that gave off clouds of yellow pollen at the touch of a finger.

Alder catkins, Alnus glutinosa, in Cudham recreation ground. 25 February 2012

And later we saw some Hazel catkins, just as ripe, on a trimmed-back shrub in a hedgerow.

Hazel catkins, Corylus avellana. 25 February 2012.

One of the group commented at the start that I would not find much to photograph today.  In fact there was plenty, though not so much as on some walks.   We followed footpaths to start with, and then bridleways down into the valley. This sign is clearly for horse riders; both the paths ahead are bridleways, so this must be meant for people from a particular stable. We saw several horses, on roads and bridleways; it's a popular pastime in this area.

Horseshoe sign on a bridleway near Cudham. 25 February 2012.

There were lots of fresh green leaf shoots to be seen. Honeysuckle, Cow Parsley, and Dog's Mercury were abundant.

Dog's Mercury, Mercurialis perennis, by the side of a bridleway near Cudham. 25 February 2012.

We had a break at Strawberry Bank, a chalk bank managed by Bromley Council dedicated to the memory of a local naturalist, Gordon Dickenson. It's mown flat at the moment, but we could see signs of the rich plant life to come.

Some of the group resting on Strawberry Bank. 25 February 2012.

There were occasional Primrose flowers, and I saw a solitary Wild Strawberry flower. We had a moss enthusiast in the group who showed me a few of those which grow on chalky soil, including this one:

Pointed Spear-moss, Calliergon cuspidatum.  A chalk soil moss. 25 February 2012.

The so-called common names of most mosses are not really common. They were made up in recent times, and are known only to bryologists. In many cases I think you have to have some experience to tell mosses apart, but this next one is fairly distinctive.  It was growing on clay soul by the bridleway. There aren't many native species that grow in this tree-like fashion. Its Latin name means fox-tailed; our moss expert added to my education by explaining that the word alopecia originally meant fox-mange.

Fox-tail Feather-moss, Thamnobryum alopecurum. A dendroid moss. 25 February 2012.

As we walked on through Newyears Wood, a group of small deer ran across a ride ahead of us. I just managed to get a shot of the last one with my iPhone; this clip is not very good, but it was this or nothing!  One of them was leaping with all four legs at once, like a cutesy cartoon.  Apparently nature can be cute too.

Roe deer crossing the path in Newyears Wood. 25 February 2012.

Most of these photos were taken with my Ixus 100. Strawberry Bank and the deer were taken with my iPhone. I used that for the Strawberry Bank shot to take advantage of the high dynamic range feature, to capture the small branches and the clouds as well as the land. And for the deer, it was what I had in my hand.

Finally, a shot that probably interests only me. Most of the country gates have little stamped metal plaques like this, showing the makers' names. This one is fairly new.

Gate maker's sign at Strawberry Bank. 25 February 2012.

Blackbush Shaw Lichens

Cudham Valley, looking towards Cudham. 19 November 2011.

This is the view from the lower edge of Blackbush Shaw towards Cudham, on the Orpington Field Club's misty outing on 19th November.  The lichens in this post came from an area to the left of this scene, on the path down into the valley.

The lichens looked very healthy and were obviously growing well. These specimens were all on tree or shrub twigs, and the trees don't have to be very old to become almost covered in lichens as long as they are not in bright sunshine.  For identifying lichens (and fungi) I am mostly reliant on others, so if I have got any of these wrong, please leave a message.

The Oakmoss below has a leafy structure, whereas the others are crustose lichens that cling to the surface they grow on.

Oakmoss, Evernia prunastri.  Cudham, 19 November 2011.

Xanthoria polycarpa. Cudham, 19 November 2011.

This orange-yellow Xanthoria polycarpa is a familiar sight in the suburbs. It doesn't have much tolerance of pollution, so it used to be on roofs and walls at the very edge of the countryside; but since the Clean Air Act in 1956 it is growing much closer to town, and there is lots of it on the garden walls here in Hayes.  This one has colonised a twig.

Lecanora chlarotera.  Cudham, 19 November 2011.

On the crustose lichens you can see the jam tart shapes of the apothecia, their fruiting bodies. These are sometimes a contrasting colour to the rest of the lichen: see below ...

A group of lichens on a shrub.  Cudham, 19 November 2011.

This popular twig has at least four different lichens. At the top right, another Lecanora chlarotera. Below and to its left, Lecidella elaeochroma, greyish with black apothecia. These two often grow in a patchwork on trees.  On the left, a foliose lichen, perhaps a Parmelia species, and to the far left you can see an orangey apothecium of another Xanthoria. The yellowish-green material all around these might be an alga, though it does seem that there is some young Xanthoria in there.

Finally, something different; a moss. This clump was growing on the end of a twig in mid-air! It could not have grown like that. It was close to the ground, so maybe when the branchlet was fully leaved it was heavy enough to touch the ground, when moss could have spread around the tip.  (Added later: This moss is probably Eurhynchium striatum.)

Clump of moss hanging from a twig.  Blackbush Shaw, Cudham, 19 November 2011.

Most of the photos here were taken with my EOS 60D and 100mm macro lens, as usual, but the scene at the top was taken with my iPhone 4s.

Blackbush Shaw Fungi

On a cold, misty morning the Orpington Field Club visited Blackbush Shaw. "Shaw" means a strip of woodland, and this is one of two shaws on the side of Cudham Valley, opposite the village, that are owned by the Woodland Trust. There's a view of this one in summertime in this walk report; look for the photo titled "Cudham valley and Bottom Barn Farm with common knapweed and ox-eye daisy."

Of course, that was summer, and now it's almost winter. There were still a few plants in flower, more than we expected, though only a few straggling examples of each; buttercups, red clovers, some yellow composites, a single milkwort. In the shade of one hedgerow were dozens of seed spikes of Broad-Leaved Helleborine. But it was the fungi and lichens that were flourishing the most brightly, and here is a selection of the fungi, all shown from below to celebrate their beautiful and delicately coloured gills.  Any that are marked "unidentified" are unidentified by me, not by the experts; I probably wasn't at that spot when they arrived. If anyone knows more, please leave a comment!

Mica Cap, Coprinellus micaceus.  Fungus.  Blackbush Shaw, Cudham, 19 November 2011.

This one has the species name "micaceus" and the common name "Mica Cap" because it is sparkly, particularly when it is young. The camera's flash highlights the reflective cells, which were not so prominent in the subdued light under the trees. It is one of the ink cap fungi, and you can see the black spores developing between the gills that will drip out in an inky liquid when the fungus is ripe.

A Waxcap, Hygrocybe species.  Blackbush Shaw, Cudham, 19 November 2011.

This orange beauty, about 3-4 cm across, is a Waxcap. It was in grass, in an open glade near the edge of the wood.

Unidentified fungus.  Blackbush Shaw, Cudham, 19 November 2011.

An unidentified species, larger and chunkier, found next to the path through the wood.

Lepista species.  Blackbush Shaw, Cudham, 19 November 2011.

This was being investigated during a short tea break.  It was still misty and cold, but we were sheltered from the wind.

The delicate mauve colouration shows that this is a Lepista, related to the Blewits. I don't think the species was conclusively identified.

Unidentified fungus.  Blackbush Shaw, Cudham, 19 November 2011.

Just a small brown fungus, but its depth of colour and symmetry are unexpectedly beautiful.

The sun did finally break through, as we were climbing back towards the cars.  I'll show some lichens next time, from before that happened.

Autumn Changes

Walking past horses in a field near Downe.  30 September 2011.

This walk, on 30th September, was the last one to be led by Bromley Countryside Services. Their funding has been cut and no more walks or events are planned.

It was placed in the schedule by Ewa Prokop, but as Ewa left some while ago it was actually led by Jenny Price, who used to be the liaison for Jubilee Countryside Park. Jenny didn't know what Ewa had planned, beyond the hints given by the title and the starting point, so she took us around part of the Cudham Circular Walk.

It was hot and sunny, and the countryside was beautiful. I had been around much of this route before, not all at the same time but on various walks in the area, but some of it was new to me. There were some very steep hills ..

At one point we walked through the village of Downe, home of Charles Darwin, and along the path towards Downe Bank, the same path I took earlier with the Orpington Field Club. Two familiar horses were in the field to the right. The foal has grown well. We passed quite close to them, and they were much smaller than I had thought in June when I saw them at a distance.

Of course, there were many signs of Autumn to justify the title of the walk. I have shown several photos of fruits and berries here, and there are more to come. The image below is of Old Man's Beard, the wild hedgerow clematis. I showed clematis flowers in September; then, the plant deserved its other common name of Traveller's Joy.

Old Man's Beard, Clematis vitalba.  Near Cudham, 30 September 3011.

Ups and Downs

An inquisitive Dexter cow near Biggin Hill.  21 June 2011.

That was Ewa Prokop's name for the walk she led on Tuesday. Ewa always looked for quirky names for her walks, and they were always energetic strides across the beautiful countryside of Bromley. This time the walk started at Pratt's Bottom and crossed three of Bromley's valleys, on the edge of the North Downs. 

Previous walks planned by Ewa had covered parts of this route, but the whole feel of the countryside was different at this time of year. More and different wildflowers were prominent in the meadows and fields. Also, I have learned a lot over the past few months, some of if from Ewa, and the more you know, the more you see.

This was Ewa's last walk for Bromley Countryside Services. A third of Bromley's rangers are losing their jobs in the current series of cutbacks. All the jobs are being redefined, and it is likely that there will be fewer of these walks and less support for the "friends" groups which care for their local country parks, commons and woods. Of the six rangers I have met, three will be retiring or will become redundant, and I wish them well.  They are people with vast knowledge of their areas and a real feel for conservation, and their loss cannot be good for Bromley's countryside.

So, I arrived early at Pratt's Bottom village green; very neat, very middle-class. Yes, I think the name is funny too. I got a couple of close-up photos before the others arrived — just two walkers and Ewa — and we set off uphill along a bridleway.

Flowers of male white bryony, Bryonia dioica. 21 June 2011.

Ewa was telling us about the countryside we passed through, and pointing out interesting plants and places where she had worked with volunteers to lay new hedgerows. We saw grasses like the drooping wood melick that lined the shady path; coppiced hazels; flowering black horehound (which Ewa knew as stinking horehound) and hedge woundwort, musk mallow and hedge bedstraw. There were butterflies; meadow brown, ringlet, large skipper.

We passed by Charmwood Farm and the gated end of a long, lime-lined track and came to an unnamed valley. At first sight this seemed to be just grassland, but there were many other plants hidden among the stalks. We saw the yellow flowers of black medick and St. John's wort, and as we climbed the far side some wild basil, a patch of wild thyme, and yes, some pyramidal orchids.

This was the same valley I photographed on 25th January for my first entry in this blog. That was one of Ewa's walks too, though she had not been able to come out that day and Jenny Price led it.

Then, some more woods and fields. The wind blew, cooling us down nicely. A day-flying moth, a white ermine, landed on one of us and promptly died, a very strange occurrence. Then we walked through the churchyard at Cudham and down into Cudham valley, another beautiful place. We came through this valley on Ewa's primrose walk in March. The solitary tree in the background of the photo of meadow cranesbill, fourth from the bottom below, is the same one that appears in the second photo down in that earlier post, and there are also photos showing Bottom Barn Farm in both posts.

Pyramidal orchid, Anacamptis pyramidalis, in a Bromley Valley. 21 June 2011.

In this valley the purple flowers of common knapweed and the white-and-yellow of ox-eye daisies were prominent in the long grass. Marbled white butterflies flew across the path.

This time we walked straight across the valley and up the hill through the ancient woods of Twenty Acre Shaw. That was quite a steep climb, and my ears popped at the top. On the far side, the last valley on our walk was less salubrious. It was small where we crossed it, more of a dip than a valley, and at the bottom our path led through a yard surrounded by ramshackle buildings with corrugated iron roofs and a skip full of rubbish.

Now we were approaching Biggin Hill. There was one slight mishap when we started to walk through someone's garden; the stile was thirty yards away, hidden in a hedge. We passed a field containing a miniature cow, a Dexter.  Soon we were at the edge of suburbia and the end of the walk. Luckily for us, Ewa gave us a lift back to our cars at the starting point.

As we neared the village green it started to rain.  Good timing.  Then we shook hands and said goodbye to Ewa for the last time.

Pratt's Bottom Village Green.  21 June 2011.

Ewa pointing out hedge bedstraw, Galium mollugo, on a farm near Pratt's Bottom.  21 June 2011.

An old beech tree, Fagus sylvatica,  in the woods east of Cudham.  21 June 2011.

Ancient yew tree, Taxus baccata, in Cudham churchyard.  21 June 2011.

Meadow cranesbill, Geranium pratense, in Cudham Valley.  21 June 2011.

Cudham valley and Bottom Barn Farm with common knapweed and ox-eye daisy.  21 June 2011.

Climbing the steps in Twenty Acre Shaw on the side of Cudham Valley.  21 June 2011.

The group having just emerged from someone's garden, east of Biggin Hill.  The actual stile is just behind me.
21 June 2011.

What I Saw #10

A six-petaled primrose, said to be lucky. Primrose Bank, Cudham Valley.

What I Saw #7

Seven spot ladybird on Musk Orchid Bank, Cudham Valley

Primrose Walk from Cudham

Walking down into Cudham Valley past Bottom Barn Farm

Quite a short walk, really, but full of interesting plants and environments, led by Ewa Prokop of BCS, who knows all and tells all.

We started in Cudham and walked down into the valley, onto Cudham Road, up Hang Grove Hill and off down to Musk Orchid Bank, from where some of us accepted a lift back.

Much of this is on the Cudham circular walk. The whole area is of interest to historians of science, as it is part of the area walked and recorded by Darwin when he lived at the nearby Down House. This area is once again (for the third time) being proposed to Unesco as a world heritage site. And there is some beautiful countryside.

A field full of cowslips in Cudham Valley

These Bromley valleys were formed by runoff from melting ice at the end of the last ice age; there is no water in them now. The plateaus are clay with flint, and the valleys themselves are chalk.

Walking down the side of the valley, we passed several laid hedges. The slope itself was covered with scrubby trees until ten years ago, when they were cleared and a few sheep were introduced to prevent regrowth. This was an attempt to re-establish the chalk downland which became overgrown when rabbits died off on the introduction of myxomatosis. It has re-grown naturally since then with the local mix of plant species and is now well populated, though there is plenty of low thorn and bramble scrub up to about a foot high.

Cowslips in Cudham Valley

Down at the bottom of the valley, a field belonging to Bottom Barn Farm is full of cowslips, introduced by re-seeding. We walked on to Cudham Road, a short section at the bottom of the valley between Downe Road and Hang Grove Hill. The coal-tax post there was erected to show a point at which tax could be levied on coal being brought into London.

At this point there is a privately owned field which was once a caravan site. It has regrown a lovely carpet of wild flowers; many primroses, lungworts, speedwells, and some less lovely ones like wild parsnips. There are some orchids here in season. There are also a few escapees from the old caravans, for example daffodils and goldenrod, which are less welcome.

Primroses on Primrose Bank, Cudham Valley

The field is known as "Primrose Bank" and this name is well justified.

On the high sides of the valley are ancient woodlands, including Blackbush Shaw and Twenty Acre Shaw, which are managed by the Woodland Trust. We walked up Hang Grove Hill, through Hang Grove, and saw some interesting plants by the roadside; townhall clock, an indicator species for ancient woodlands, and toothwort, a plant with no chlorophyll that is parasitic on hazel roots.

Up the hill, we turned off to a site known as Musk Orchid Bank. This area is not accessible to the public; it is owned by Bromley council and managed by a tenant farmer. There are no musk orchids there now, as there were in Darwin's time. But it is covered with primroses, with some patches of cowslips. It's adjacent to Downe Bank, a nature reserve owned by the Kent WIldlife Trust.

There I also found the shell of a Roman snail, a very large edible snail species which I have never seen alive. Much bigger even than the large garden snails. I will be watching ..

Just as we left we saw a buzzard fly out of the woods for a few moments.

Random fact: Lesser celandine is sometimes called pilewort, and was used as a cure. One of the walkers said that the roots resemble piles, so this might just be sympathetic magic.

Here are a few more images:

The coal tax post in Cudham Valley

Field Speedwell on Primrose Bank, Cudham Valley
Later addition: I now think this might be germander speedwell.

Townhall clock on the edge of ancient woodland in Cudham Valley

Lungwort on Primrose Bank, Cudham Valley

Wild flowers like these lungworts, and the primroses and cowslips, are very pretty. I saw the same plants in a garden centre the next day, so if you want one, there is no need to take one from the wild.

The group on Musk Orchid Bank, about to rest among primroses

Added later: There's a sign near the start of this walk that says access via the permissive footpaths ended in September 2009. I asked Ewa about this and she says the access has been renewed for a further ten years.