Community, Parish Council & Village
Steve Hallam will lead a guided walk to seek out berries, soft fruit, nuts, seeds & fungi. All of these are now out in abundance. To join Steve you should meet him at the Old Church at 10 am on Saturday 20th October -wear suitable clothing! You should wear strong boots or wellies as we may encounter Continue reading “Autumn Walk – Fungi, Berries & Fruits”
Winter Bird Walk 2018The first guided walk of the year at Hillhouse Wood takes place on Saturday 3rd March when Steve Hallam leads the Winter Bird Walk 2018. Walkers should meet at the Old Church at 10 am (weather permitting), wearing
Fairies & FruitsOn the 16th October I ran the fourth Autumn Fruits nature walk around and through Hillhouse Wood. The fact that I am able to make this statement is a slight surprise because the previous evening’s weather forecast had heavy rain bang on the time of the walk, and light rain for an hour either side. On which basis I had anticipated being on my own. Accordingly, I was quite pleased to hear heavy rain falling when I woke up, suggesting that it was moving through earlier than forecast. And so, by around 9.45 the rain was becoming showery and the clouds were lightening. But would everyone have been put off? As it turned out the answer was ‘no’ with nine hardy souls arriving at the church. Naturally, as this was the first year I forgot to bring any sweets, two of them were young children. Typical!
This year, unlike in 2015, I had ample time to survey the route and knew there was plenty to see. But, as a result, this would make it a relatively long walk (about two hours) and I wasn’t sure how long the youngsters’ interest would last. As I’ve commented on before, it has been a surprise to discover how the presence, location and abundance of plants vary from year to year. So each year there are pleasant surprises with the occasional disappointment. This year’s disappointments were an absence of Black nightshade, virtually no Dogwood berries or Sloes, a reduced variety of flowers, and the fact that the crop of our one Plumtree had already finished.
On the happier
side of the coin, this year we had another great display of wild hops, a relatively large number of Holly berries, good displays of both Black and White bryony (no relation) and a pretty flower that I’ve not previously seen – Creeping cinquefoil; a flower that is easy to mistake for a Buttercup.
And so to my two mini-walkers, Abigail and James. It turned out that they each had a fairy – Abigail’s was called Rosehip and James’s was called Blueberry. They were keen to see the real-life berries that their fairies were named after. We would see both, but my challenge was to maintain their interest at a high enough level to keep them in the group until we got there. Luckily for me, we came across Rosehips fairly quickly, which pleased Abigail and made James keen to find ‘his’ berry.
Even without the incentive of sweet rewards they were both happy playing the ‘Hip or Haw’ challenge. This kept them going until I managed to find some Sloes – as close as you can get to a Blueberry in north-east Essex. In the end, they got nearly half way round before James’s little legs reached their limit and their Mum took them home. I thought they both did very well.
A report by Steve HallamIn mid-October, I led the third of our Autumn Fruits walks. These walks focus on berries and nuts, but also cover whatever else we find along the way. Thirteen people came on the walk this year, which was pleasing bearing in mind the uninviting weather at the time.
It might reasonably be thought that, as this walk is primarily plant-based, the same things would be seen each year. Indeed this is what I had anticipated. However, it transpires that nature and predictability are not natural ‘fellow travellers’. This year this worked slightly to our disadvantage, as several finds in 2014 were absent this time. Chief among these was a spectacular display of wild hops, of which there was now no sign at all. White bryony was another fruit that could not be found. In general, the numbers of berries were lower than in the two previous years. The haws and hips were relatively thin in the hedgerows, as were the delicate Spindle tree berries. The blackberries of the Dogwood were nearly completely absent; in fact, it was only through diligent searching by party members that a few were found.
Despite these absences, the area in and around Hillhouse Wood is so productive that we still ran out of time before we had stopped to see and talk about all the berries, nuts and flowers that are visible at this time of year. The walk pays most attention to aspects of the countryside such as the ways in which plants were once used by people, how they can indicate the line of historic boundaries, the mythological beliefs that were associated with certain plants, and the tricks they use to survive. Flowers such as the humble and unspectacular looking Yarrow or St. John’s wort were once important to previous generations, used to cure ailments and protect crops from disease.
Our two Guelder rose shrubs put on their normal spectacular display, while the Ivy berries were maturing in their normal abundance. Of the two, the latter were of much greater use to people, and have more interesting stories to tell. One of its uses was to protect households from malicious goblins, especially at Christmas time.
Blackberries have been abundant this year, although largely over by now. We were also able to find Woody nightshade and the related Black nightshade, the former a climber but the latter an upright herbaceous plant of disturbed ground. Two strands of Black bryony were found, the only member of the Yam family to grow in Britain. A few Holly berries were tucked away, and one Honeysuckle plant which was simultaneously showing berries and flowers. In the wood, the Sweet chestnuts had produced their normal heavy crop of well-protected nuts.
So, all in all, we had a very successful walk which I trust everyone enjoyed.