Tag: Lichens

Nature you can’t see. Private land, pheasant shooting, trespassing in an ancient wood and the right to roam.

I took the photos in this blog post to bring your attention to some marvellous things in nature, in Sussex, that are hidden from the public. I will not name the Sussex wood I trespassed in to take these photos.

If you go down to the woods today, you’re in for a big surprise: a third of England’s woodlands are owned by just a thousand landowners.

That’s the central finding of my new investigation into who owns England’s woods. The analysis also raises questions how private woods are used – with many of them kept off-limits to the general public in order to maintain them as pheasant shoots, despite receiving public subsidies. https://whoownsengland.org/2020/11/02/who-owns-englands-woods/ Guy Shrubsole accessed 16.11.15

The ownership of land in Sussex

Much land in Sussex is in private ownership and walking in significant amounts of that land is currently prohibited by signs denying public access; often this is associated with pheasant shooting. But pheasant shooting also effects land with public access as well as private land where shooting occurs. I recently walked through a public-access SSSI scarp-face ancient wood in West Sussex, adjoining a private wood used for pheasant shooting. I saw and heard many pheasants in this wood I was walking through. I had a lunchtime half pint of cider in the nearest pub to the wood, and in the pub there was a group of pheasant shootists there bragging (loudly) about how many pheasants they had shot. The existence of private woodland for pheasant shooting has a negative impact on much woodland – private and public.

For many years, we have been concerned with the impacts of two of the most intensive forms of shooting: driven grouse, and the high-density release of Pheasants and Red-legged Partridge for shooting. Our studies have identified that various key practices are causing particular ecological harm, with implications for both biodiversity and the climate emergency. The big issues: the illegal killing of birds of prey, the use of lead ammunition, the burning of peatland habitats and the release of millions of non-native Pheasants and Red-legged Partridges into the natural environment. RSPB The Facts about Intensively-Managed Game-Bird Shooting. RSPB The facts about intensively-managed gamebird shooting

Many of the potential impacts of gamebird releasing are poorly studied and understood, and are often under-represented in the peer-reviewed scientific literature. A common theme emerging from these reviews is that the ecological impacts of gamebird releasing appear to be strongly polarised, with potential negative effects associated with the released birds (e.g. enhanced predator abundance and predation, increased disease transmission, altered habitat structure, reduced invertebrate abundance. Mason, L.R., Bricknell ,J.E., Smart, J. & Peach, W. J. (2020) The impacts of non-native gamebird releasein the UK: an updated evidence review. RSPB Research Report No, 66 RSPB Centre for Conservation Science, Sandy UK. Downloadable from RSBP Game bird shooting – laws and impact

Screenshot from Mason, et. al (2020)

Here is an indication of how much land is in public ownership in the Western (West Sussex) South Downs. Of the top five owners of land in Sussex by acreage owned, only one is a public body. (The wood that these photos were taken in is not in West Sussex). These data are from Guy Shrubsole & Anna Powell-Smith’s excellent Who Owns England: Who Owns the South Down https://whoownsengland.org/2018/02/16/who-owns-the-south-downs/ accessed 16.11.25

1) Viscount Cowdray – Cowdray Estate: 16,500 acres

 … the current 4th Viscount Cowdray … has donated £65,000 over the past decade to UKIP, the Conservatives and Vote Leave …

2) Duke of Norfolk – Arundel & Angmering Estates: 16,000 acres

… “Since William rose and Harold fell, / There have been Earls at Arundel.” So reads a plaque in the shadow of the magnificent Arundel Castle, stronghold of the Earls of Arundel, whose proximity to power down the centuries eventually also earned them the Dukedom of Norfolk. ..

“When the 15th Duke stood on the battlements of his newly repaired keep in 1910, he would have had the satisfaction of knowing that almost everything he could see in all directions belonged to him.” Although the Ducal estate is thought to have diminished in size since then, it is still… The Estate’s origins go back to the Norman Conquest.” 

3) National Trust properties across the South Downs: 15,151 acres

4) Baron Leconfield (Lord Egremont) – Leconfield (Petworth) Estate: 14,000 acres

…his family estate also includes 3,000 acres in Cumbria ….

5) Duke of Richmond – Goodwood Estate: 11,500 acres

As the [Independent, Sean O’Grady Thursday 30 July 2009. Earl of March: A glorious example of the landed classes; says [The Duke of Richmond] has “leverage[d] Goodwood’s formidable competitive advantages – the things that cannot be replicated elsewhere (except by other landed families, presumably): vast (and beautiful) space and a magnificent stately home”. But these modern businesses depend on owning land inherited down the centuries: “Even if they wanted to, it is difficult to imagine any company, oligarch or Middle Eastern princeling acquiring such an enormous chunk of southern England [nowadays].”

I have trespassed in an SSSI wood owned by one of the above, which the public are denied access to. It has outstanding and rare natural heritage, including this Usnea articulata String-of-Sausages Lichen, extremely rare in Sussex. This wood is regularly used for pheasant shooting. As I was walking around it I saw dead pheasants that had been left on the ground from a hunt of a few days before.

In an ideal world land would not be owned by individuals; but in the absence of a change to the ownership of land, I believe:

(1) there should be a right to roam on private land, as set out by the campaign The Right to Roam / About / What we are campaigning for (accessed 16.11.25)

(2) the ownership of land should be taxed through a Land Value Tax, see: Labour Land Campaign What is Land Value Tax (accessed 16.11.25)

I am not urging you to trespass. If you choose to trespass, please follow the guidelines from the Right To Roam that are cited at the end of this post

The wood that I trespassed a few days ago and its natural wonders

This woodland is a Site of Special Scientific Interest that is believed to have been continuously wooded since medieval times. The wood’s soil is clay; and the wood is dominated by sessile oak, pedunculate oak, hornbeam and hazel with some ash and alder, with an understory of holly and bramble. The hornbeam and hazel have been previously coppiced. The sign on the gate as well as saying the land is private warns of shooting occurring in the wood.

The rides are lined by goat willow, aspen, blackthorn, hawthorn and silver birch

There is a boundary bank and ditch planted mostly with coppiced hornbeam, that exactly follows the parish boundary shown on the OS map

Honrbeam

Sessile Oak and Hornbeam

Graphidaceae family lichen possibility Graphis scripta on a Hornbeam

Sessile Oak in “tall forest” woodland

Hazel

Holly

Sessile Oak, with a sheet of the lichen Dendrographa decolorans on the dry side of the tree

Sessile Oak leaf on the base of the tree above

The lichens Lecanactis abietina (an old tree lichen) and a Chrysothrix sp. (Gold Dust Lichens) on a Sessile Oak

Coppiced Hornbeam

Clouded Funnel fungi

Sessile Oak

Bark Barnacle Lichen on Sessile Oak

Brnacle lichen is found mainly on the bark of living trees in ancient woods, and it is indicative of longstanding woodland conditions. Woodland Trust Bark Barnacle Lichen

Sessile Oak covered in Usnea cornuta

Parish boundary bank with coppiced Hornbeam

A recently pollarded young Hornbeam – showing continuity of ancient woodland management practices

Coppiced Hornbeam

A Hornbeam with a range of Pertusaria spp. Hornbeams often have many genus Pertusaria and family Graphidaceae

Lepra (formerly Pertusaria) amara, Pertusaria pertusa and Pertusaria leioplaca. Terrestrial molluscs love eating the apothecia of Pertusaria. L. leioplaca seems their favourite; it must be their caviar.

Ball of Common Striated Feathermoss with Candlesnuff fungus,

Pedunculate Oak

Alder by a stream

Ash

Wild Privet

From Right To Roam:

You’ve all seen signs claiming ‘Trespassers Will Be Prosecuted’.  They’re a lie. 

In the UK, ‘trespass’ is a civil offence, provided you don’t infringe certain conditions. You cannot face criminal prosecution simply for being on someone else’s land without permission (or away from a designated Right of Way, open access land or land where any bylaws permit public access). The dispute is solely between you and the landowner, and the police cannot get involved.

That landowner could theoretically take you to civil court. But they’d have to know who you are, and it would most likely be a waste of their time.
 
Likewise, any ‘damages’ would have to be proportionate to the damage you’ve caused, which if you follow our principles of trespass below, should be zero.

However, the legal situation changes if you do any the following when trespassing on land: 

  • Cause damage to property
  • Disrupt lawful activity
  • Conduct yourself in a threatening or abusive fashion
  • Bring a vehicle, intending to reside & cause damage
    • Enter land with special restrictions* (see below)

 That would be classed as ‘criminal trespass’, which is a criminal offence, leaving you potentially subject to police enforcement. 

*Important Note: there are certain sites with special trespass designations which do make your mere unauthorised presence a criminal offence. The penalty for violation can be serious. Mostly, these are common sense. Avoid military sites, essential infrastructure (e.g. railways, airports, nuclear facilities) and stay away from the sorts of places the King might be having a cup of tea (or the Prime Minister hosting an illegal party).

Right to Roam follow some key principles when accessing land without permission. We do not condone actions which break these rules, as these will simply undermine our campaign.

  • Take responsibility for your own actions
  • Respect people’s privacy, domestic property and gardens
  • Don’t walk where crops are growing (stick to field margins or use alternative routes)
  • Avoid places that don’t feel like open countryside (e.g. have buildings or machinery)
  • Respect livestock and other animals kept on the land such as ponies and horses (i.e. avoid closed paddocks). Remember that cattle – especially bulls or cows with calves – can be dangerous 
  • Care for nature (avoid fires, wildlife disturbance or damage to flora)

Since civil trespass (i.e. simply existing on land) is not a criminal offence it is especially important that it does not become associated with criminal activity. Damage nothing. Disrupt no lawful activity. Peacefully enjoy what you came to experience.

Voices from the seventieth century

The gentrye are all round stand up now, stand up now
The gentrye are all round stand up now
The gentrye are all round on each side the are found
Their wisdom so profound to cheat us of our ground.

The Diggers Song, Gerald Winstanley, 1650 True Levellers (Diggers)

Lichen, bryophytes and vascular plants in Johnny Wood & Bowder Stone Wood (Borrowdale Rainforest NNR) and Cummacatta Wood. 06.11.25

At last the bus 78 to Seatoller was running after the road flooding had subsided! I could visit the woods at the south of the Borrowdale Rainforest NNR that I had intended to visit on 03.10.25

Getting off at Seatoller, I decided to visit some of southernmost woods of the NNR: High Stile and Low Stile Woods; named as “Seatoller Wood” on the Natural England map of ancient woodland, . When I got to these woods they were fenced off with “private” signs, despite them being marked as public access land on the OS map. As I said in my post of 03.11.25, I had had to do lots of research to find where the constituent parts of the NNR are. The National Trust website on the NNR doesn’t have a map of the NNR, and there is no Natural England visitors’ guide, as there is for other NNRs. There is also no information on which parts of the NNR have public access and which don’t. The only way to find out whether or not there is no public access is to visit the woods and find out for yourself, when you have found out where the constituent woods in the Borrowdale Rainforest NNR are.

The only way I found out where the constituent woods of the NNR were, was by looking at the declaration of NNR map on the government’s website. I then had to cross reference this map with the OS map to find the names of the constituent woods of the NNR.

I support the right to roam (visit Right To Roam) but in the absence of a right to roam, the very least public bodies administrating NNRs should do is to tell the public where parts of NNRs are and which can be visited

High and Low Stile Woods from Johnny Wood

Johnny Wood

Lichens on a dry stone wall at the beginning of the wood

Probably Cladonia polydactyla, with bright red apothecia (fruiting bodies) on the edges of its cups; growing with/on moss

Rhizocarpon geographicum (green and black) in a mosaic with Lecidea lithophila (white thallus with red tinge and black apothecia) and an other lichen

Rhizocarpon geographicum and Lecidea lithophila are extremely common in Borrowdale; in Sussex (where I live) Rhizocarpon geographicum is rare, and restricted to church yards, Lecidea lithophila is non-existent in Sussex. North-West lichen enthusiasts are probably not that excited by seeing these lichens but as a Southerner seeing these was very interesting.

Distribution Maps (British Lichen Society) Lecidea lithophila & Rhizocarpon geographicum

Lecidea lithophila

A dead Sessile Oak

which reminded me of the Statue of Liberty

The trunk of this tree is still a viable substrate for epiphytes (because epiphytes take no nutrition from their substrate) including mosses, polypody ferns and lichens

Polypody fern

Physalacriaceae family fugus on tree

Physalacriaceae spp. are saprobic; i.e. they obtain nutrients by breaking down dead and decaying organic matter, serving a useful ecological function

This rocky bank as covered in mosses

A sphagnum moss probably Sphagnum palustre was at the top of this bank.

The demonstrated the difference between habitat in the south (where I live) & the north-west temperate rainforest. Sphagnum palustre in Sussex is found in bogs and wet flushes with a supply of water from springs or streams. In Borrowdale, it is also at the top of this rocky mound because it rains a lot ; in the south, it doesn’t rain enough for that.

Seathwaite, Borrowdale: This village is the wettest inhabited place in England, receiving around 3,500 mm (138 inches) annually. Visit Cumbria Weather in the Lakes

The average annual precipitation in Sussex is around 914mm (36 inches) Climate Data Sussex

Scleroderma citrinum Common Earthball

Mossy boulders

In Johnny Wood, Wilson’s Filmy-fern can be found. I have never seen it. So I explored likely filmy-fern outcrops to try and find it.

Filmy Ferns are characteristic of temperate rain forest

Wilson’s Filmy Fern has a similar distribution to Tunbridge Filmy Fern

Following my success in finding Tunbridge Filmy Fern in the High Weald (an outlier population in the of Sussex  where the These unique geological features of the High Weald produce create a localized, hypo-oceanic microclimate that supports plant species typically of western Atlantic woodland), I explored rock outcrops like those ones I have seen Tunbridge Filmy Fern on for Wilson Filmy Fern, like this one:

But when I climbed up to this rocky outcrop below, I “only” found common bryophytes e.g. White Earwort & Tamarisk Moss. But many “common” bryophytes are beautiful. I saw no Wilson’s Filmy Fern in any of the rock outcrops I explored.

White Earwort

 Common Tamarisk-Moss

But as I have said before, I am never tire of seeing common beautiful things.

Here is some Tunbridge Filmy Fern I saw in Sussex to give you an idea of what Filmy Ferns look like!

The leaves of Wood-Sorrel, an ancient woodland indicator species, growing though Sphagnum palustre

Concrete water reservoir. Ancient temperate rainforest woods in the UK are not untouched by human intervention. Most have always been part of living, changing landscapes formed by human-nature interaction.

Waling along the River Derwent from Johnny Wood to the Bowder Stone

Walking along the Derwent I saw many birds, including this gorgeous juvenile Chaffinch

I also saw two White-throated Dippers dipping the Derwent for food. Both of them were quicky gone so I was unable to get a photo of them

Here is a Dipper I saw in the River North Esk south of Edinburgh in 2023

It is always a thrill to see Dippers

Witch’s Broom – Taphrina betulina (a fungal gall that effects the tree’s growth)

Herdwicks!

Not all of Borrowdale is Atlantic Oakwood; there is also much secondary woodland. Looking up from the valley, I could see Secondary Beech plantation

and Pine plantations

As Guy Shrubsole says: the Atlantic Oakwoods of Borrowdale remain fragmented and under pressure National Trust Borrowdale NNR . Which makes it all the more important that the National Trust and Nature England point out to the public which fragments are Atlantic Woodland (Temperate Rain Forest)

Bowder Stone

In the valley of the river Derwent, in Borrowdale, just north of Rosthwaite in a woodland clearing on the opposite side of the road from the river, stands a huge glacial boulder shaped like a human head that is one of several Cumbrian curiosities and, which has locally been called The Bowder Stone or Balder’s Stone, after the son of the Norse god, Odin (Woden). This ice-borne rock was carried down the valley by a glacier many thousands of years ago and deposited, having been trapped and then dislodged between the two side-slopes of the river valley. The Journal Of Antiquities The Bowder Stone, Rosthwaite, Cumbria

  • The boulder would have nestled deeply in the forests that covered the Lake District after the last ice age – the original ‘wildwood’ that predated human habitation in the Lakes. It stood unmoved through the coming of the people who built the Iron Age hillfort on Castle Crag, the Norse who created the many clearings or ‘thwaites’ along the valley for grazing, and the traditional woodland industries which coppiced and harvested the timber for firewood, building materials and leather tanning.
  • Two hundred years ago, the Bowder Stone was one of the most prominent landmarks in the valley – a huge boulder that awed visitors with its sheer size and mass that stood out against the sky as the road wound towards it .Balanced improbably on one edge, it was popular with Georgian tourists for the ‘pleasurable terror’; they enjoyed wild, romantic scenery and the frisson of experiencing danger from a safe distance. National Trust History on the Borrowdale Valley

Photo of Bowder Stone in nineteenth century from the Borrowdale Story – Geology

The area around the Bowder Stone is now designated by Nature England and the National Trust ancient (oakwood) rainforest; but the immediate area around the stone has clearly not been continuously wooded

Dunnock on dry stone wall.

A Sessile Oak with “white” bark from a distance

The white bark is probably lichens of the Mesic bark community (the
Pertusarietum). I am very used to this community, as it is common in the south, especially in parkland trees and trees at the edge of woods. I thought it unusual to see this in the Lake District but I did some research and found that whist it is largely southern community in the UK, …. [there is] a very important stronghold in the Lake District Plantlife: Lichens and Bryophytes of Atlantic Woodland in the Lake District

More Rhizocarpon geographicum and Lecidea lithophila on a rock. Whilst I had never come across Lecidea lithophila until Monday, by Thursday I could recognize it at 50m away

Lots of Silver Birch, Beech and Yew above the Bowder Stone

The National Trust says of Borrowdale Rainforest NNR: The Borrowdale Oakwoods are one of England’s largest remaining pieces of temperate rainforest that once spread from the north of Scotland down the west coast of England, Wales and Ireland and are part of a long standing cultural landscape

And these Silver Birch, Yew and Beech woodland are within the NNR that is described as Oakwood. But Oakwood is not all Oak

Upland oakwoods are characterised by a predominance of oak (most commonly sessile, but locally pedunculate) and birch in the canopy, with varying amounts of holly, rowan and hazel as the main understorey species. The range of plants found in the ground layer varies according to the underlying soil type and degree of grazing from bluebell-bramble-fern communities through grass and bracken dominated ones to heathy moss-dominated areas. Many oakwoods also contain areas of more alkaline soils, often along streams or towards the base of slopes where much richer communities occur. Elsewhere small alder stands may occur or peaty hollows covered by bog mosses Sphagnum spp. These elements are an important part of the upland oakwood system. The ferns, mosses and liverworts found in the most oceanic of these woods are particularly rich; many also hold very diverse lichen communities. Buglife Upland Oakwood

Cummacatta Wood

Cummacatta Wood is, to me, of very high biological interest (with sparse ancient trees and bog), is not in the designated NNR area, although it is probably of more biological interest than some of the woodland around the Bowder Sone which is in the Borrowdale Rainforest NNR. The danger of having an NRR that is described as a rainforest NRR is that biologically important areas that are not rainforest are not offered the protection that being part of a National Nature Reserve

Cummacatta Wood has a physical sign saying it is a National Trust property; however there is no information about it online from the National Trust or any other organisation except for one mention of the wood in a hiking apps.

It is not in the Borrowdale Rainforest NNR but it is in the geographical area of the Lodore-Tri0ttdale Woods SSSI. Although it is not mentioned in its SSSI specification by name; the sentence The site includes a number of interesting non-wooded habitats. Species-rich flushes may include Cummcatta Wood; although it is partially wooded!

The Borrowdale Rainforest NNR according to Nature England contains a number of SSSIs
Armboth Fells SSSI; Castlehead Wood SSSI; Great Wood SSSI; Hollows Farm Section SSSI; Johnny Wood SSSI; Lodore – Troutdale Woods SSSI; River Derwent and Tributaries SSSI; Rosthwaite Fell SSSI; Seatoller Wood, Sourmilk Gill & Seathwaite Graphite Mine SSSI; Stonethwaite Woods SSSI and The Ings SSSI. The relationship between these individual SSSIs and the legal entity Borrowdale Rainforest NNR is very unclear beyond Natural England says the Borrowdale Rainforest NNR is Legally underpinned by these SSSI

Despite the deafening silence of the internet on Cummacatta Wood of its biological nature, I found it charmingly beautiful and full of biological interest. I have walked through Johnny Wood, the woods around the Bowder Stone and Cummacatta Wood just once and I wasn’t long in any of these areas; so my views on their interest is very impressionistic. I almost certainly missed many interesting species of lichens, bryophytes and vascular plants!

Cummaccatta is sparsely wooded with Sessile Oak, Silver Birch, Hazel, Yew, Juniper and Ash.

Here the beautiful and common (in North West Atlantic Woodland) liverwort Frullania tamarisci

A twisted Sessile Oak

Yew

Hawthorns; as in Sussex, often have abundant (bit different) lichen. Sussex Hawthorns are dominated by Ranalina spp. lichens with few or no Usnea spp. Upland north-west Hawthorn often have more Usnea. On these hawthorns Usnea floridana is relatively common; it is very rare on South East hawthorns

Lichens on these two hawthorns

Hypogymnia physodes

Cladonia polydactyla

A liverwort not a lichen: Frullania tamarisci

Falvoparmelia caperata

Beard lichen: probably Usnea subfloridana

Usnea subfloridana

Platismatia glauca 

Two stunted Yews

Juniper

Bog Pond Weed

Bog Asphodel

Red: Sphagnum capillifolium subsp. rubellum

Common Heather

The way in and out of Cummacatta Wood is on the B2859, the Keswick to Seatoller road, along which the Stagecoach 78 bus runs

On the open-top bus back to Keswick

Castlerigg Stone Circle and lichens on a dry stone wall on the lane to Castlerigg. The last day of my Lakes holiday. 08.11.25

The Castlerigg Stone Circle is 2 miles from the centre of Keswick. I took the bus bus to the nearest bus stop then had to walk a mile along a narrow lane to reach the stones

There are few stone circles in Britain in such a dramatic setting as that of Castlerigg, which overlooks the Thirlmere Valley with the mountains of High Seat and Helvellyn as a backdrop. … Thought to have been constructed about 3000 BC, it is potentially one of the earliest in the country. … Although there are more than 300 stone circles in Britain, the great majority of them are Bronze Age burial monuments (dating from about 2000–800 BC) containing cremations in central pits or beneath small central cairns. By contrast, their Neolithic forebears, such as Castlerigg, Swinside in the southern part of the Lake District, and Long Meg and her Daughters in the Eden Valley, do not contain formal burials. The Neolithic stone circles also differ from those of the later Bronze Age in their generally larger size and often flattened circular shape – as is found at Castlerigg – comprising an open circle of many large stones. Castlerigg is about 97½ ft (30 metres) in diameter, and formerly comprised 42 stones. There are now only 38 stones, which vary in height from 3¼ ft (1 metre) to 7½ ft (2.3 metres).

Neolithic stone circles typically have an entrance and at least one outlying stone. The entrance at Castlerigg, on the north side of the circle, is flanked by two massive upright stones, and the outlier is presently to the west-south-west of the stone circle, on the west side of the field adjacent to a stile; this stone has been moved from its original position. It has been suggested that such outlying stones had astronomical significance – alignments with planets or stars – although examination of those in early stone circles elsewhere in Britain has shown that there are no consistent orientations for them. English Heritage Castlerigg Stone Circle

I arrived at the stone circle just as the sun was rising, I thought I’d have the stones to myself; how wrong I was!

More sun!

Some of the lichens on the dry stone walls on the tiny lane to Castlerigg .

Parmelia saxatilis Salted Shield Lichen

Cladonia polydactyla

Parmelia omphalodes Smoky Crottle

P. omphalodes was called dark crottle by Scots tweed makers. Gaelic “crotal”: lichens for red/brown dyes.

Stereocaulon vesuvianum 

Stereocaulon vesuvianum is a common lichen of upland silicious rock, often on dry stone walls, and I associate it with holidays in the North West. l hadn’t seen it till the last day of my holiday – the last day of my holiday. So I can go home content now! Its pseudopotetia (sticky-up bits) could make you think it’s a Cladonia species

Tephromela atra Black-eye Lichen

Parmelia sulcata Hammered Shield Lichen

An unexpected visit to Rydal Water. Ancient pollarded Sessile Oaks and a sinking isle. 04.11.25

On this Tuesday, I was expecting to go to the southern Borrowdale woods that I hadn’t been able to see the day before, due to the bus being cancelled all day due to flooding. But the bus to Seatoller was still cancelled again due to flooding, so I decided to take the bus to Ambleside to change busses for Skelwith Bridge, where there was some interesting woods; but the bus to Skelwith Bridge was also cancelled due to flooding. The only place I could go to to see some woods, was to take the bus that goes back to Keswick and get off at Rydal.

Rydal has Wordsworth’s House, the famous Rydal Falls and some unnamed broadleaf woodlands that I had noted on the OS map that could be interesting. Some of the most beautiful trees  I have seen have been in woods unnamed on maps.

First, I visited the National Trust’s Dora’s Field; a field named by William Wordsworth after his daughter who died at a young age.

Next to Rydal Church stands a field known locally as ‘The Rashfield’. This was originally a wet field where rushes (“rashes”) grew and it later became known as  ‘Dora’s Field’. The field was purchased in 1825 by William Wordsworth.  

Provoked by the threat of eviction by his landlady Lady Anne Le Fleming who planned to replace the Wordsworth family with a member of her own family, Wordsworth bought the Rashfield, drained it and declared that he intended to build on it.  … but Lady Anne withdrew the threat of eviction & Wordsworth remained at Rydal Mount until his death there in 1850.

Having already lost two children in infancy Wordsworth and his wife suffered a third blow when Dora, her father’s favourite, died aged 43 of tuberculosis in 1847. The poet never recovered from the loss of this daughter and, after Dora’s death Wordsworth, his wife Mary, sister Dorothy and a gardener planted the daffodils as a permanent memorial. A Rydal Guide: Dora’s Field

Dora’s field contained some beautiful coppiced and pollarded Sessile Oaks

Then I walked about 500m to visit the Rydal Falls; in the woodland behind Rydal Hall. A few meters aways is Rydal Mount, the “cottage” in which Wordsworth lived. Rydal Falls and Rydal Mount were very popular destination for Victorian tourists

There is not anywhere in England a drive so full of that mingled natural and human interest which makes scenery so impressive. It is well-nigh impossible for sensitive minds not to feel something of ‘the light that never was on sea or land’ as they pass the thresholds of the good and great, whose thoughts have helped our England to be pure. In this coach drive to Keswick they not only go by the homes of the thinkers and poets and philosophers, but their foreheads feel the wind and rain that gave such freshness to the seers of the last generation; the sunlight on lake or mountain head that filled their minds with glory fills ours today. The woods and waterfalls that speak to us upon our way spoke also to them. We can in fancy see their familiar forms upon the road, and, as in eastern travels the ‘weli’ or way-side tomb made the journey’s stage rememberable [sic], so we find in this pilgrim stage through poet-land that the great dead lend it a kind of solemn sweetness, and the dust of two laureates hallows the wonder-giving way. Rawnsley, A Coach-Drive at the Lakes : Windermere To Keswick (1891) , pp. 3–4 quoted in Christopher Donaldson, Ian N. Gregory, Patricia Murrieta-Flores, Mapping ‘Wordsworthshire’: A GIS Study of Literary Tourism in Victorian Lakeland, Journal of Victorian Culture, Volume 20, Issue 3, 1 September 2015, Pages 287–307.

I then took the Coffin Road above Rydal Mount through the unnamed woods.

… at a higher-level running through the meadows of Rydal Park and across the slopes of Nab Scar, is an … [old] track. It dates back a very long time and is called locally, the Coffin Road, due to the fact that the only consecrated ground for burial in the area was the grave yard at St Oswalds in Grasmere and it was therefore used to convey coffins on their final journey. Visit the Lake District – Ambleside to Grasmere – ‘The Coffin Route’

On a drystone wall next to the beginning of the route was this multi-cup “Pixie Cup” Cladonia sp. lichen, possibly C. chlorophaea s.l. (one of the C. chlorophaea aggregate). It was a veritable “Pixie Champagne Fountain”. Maybe a Pixie Wedding occurred there.

The pollarded Sessile Oaks the wood unnamed on the OS map; this looks like pasture woodland but I can find out nothing about this woodland on line

This Hawthorn had epiphytic Polypody fern

and some beautiful epiphytic lichens

Ramalina farinacea

Ramalina farinacea above can look very similar to Usnea (beard) lichens; the way to spot R arinacea is that it has prominent flour-like (farine (French) flour in farinacea) blobs (soredia) on its lobes; Usneas mostly mostly don’t have soredia, but some do, like Usnea subfloridana. Lichen are just hard.

Usnea subfloridana

Usnea ceratina

and this rain-soaked moss, Ulota bruchii. Bruch’s Pincushion

From the path it appeared as if Little Isle in Rydal Water was being engulfed by the rising water of the lake, like the medieval French legend of Ys, which was engulfed by the sea and rises occasionally; beautifully evoked in Debussy’s La Cathedrále Engloutie prelude Click: La Cathedrále Engloutie to listen.

I then walked on further west, along a dry stone wall above woodland (unnamed) under the fell Lord Crag, with fabulous views of Rydal Water

The very red apothecia (fruiting bodies) of this Peltigera sp. lichen, poss. P. horizontalis, really stood out on a dark and rainy afternoon on the very wet dry stone wall

Looking up Lord Crag, pollarded Sessile Oaks. The spots are rain drops on my camera lens

Theses lonely oaks on the foothills of Lords appear “wild”; but pollarding is a human intervention; so even these “wild” veteran trees have been managed across time.

Water pouring over a dry stone wall. It rained all day this Tuesday as it did the day and weekend before

This is the public footpath down to Rydal Water not a waterfall

This is a unnamed waterfall just marked on the OS map as “fall”

From the car park next to the waterfall I got the bus back to Keswick

My waterproof trousers and jacket, that had given up repelling water, drying in the hotel room bathroom; after being sprayed with Durable Water Repellent. Durable Water Repellent is available in nearly the gazillion outdoor shops in Ambleside (where I bought mine) and Keswick

Borrowdale Rainforest National Nature Reserve: Great Wood to Ashness Wood 03.11.25

The first day of my five day holiday in Keswick – three of which I had planned to devote to exploring the constituent ancient woods of the NNR – started with initial disappointment. Due to the unprecedent levels of rain on the days before, the only Borrowdale bus (the Stagecoach 78) which runs between Keswick and Seaotoller) was suspended due to road flooding, and the Derwent Launch services were suspended too, because of the height of the water in Derwent Water; so there way of reaching where I wanted to go, Johnny’s Wood – by bus or boat. So, I decide to walk to Great Wood and Arnees Wood from Keswick. This is a 10 mile return walk – and it rained continuously – but it was worth it.

The footpath from Great Wood to Ashness Wood provided fantastic views of Derwent Water; however, as the footpath was an up-and-down path through the foothills of Castlerigg Fell, the footpath was more like a beck than a path. In some places, the water level was above my boots. However good your “waterproof” socks are, there is nothing to do about a top-down inundation. But once the water between your feet and your waterproof socks has warned up to body temperature, it’s fine, and when you are focusing hard on looking at nature you don’t notice your socks being like little swimming pools!

The blue circles mark the constituent woods of the new Borrowdale Rainforest NNR. There are more than those on this map.

The walk along the lake from Keswick to the start of the path up Great Wood.

Herdwick sheep sheltering under a pollarded Sessile Oak

The water level was very high – these Larch were being engulfed by the rising water level

Lichen mosaic on Silver Birch. Lecanora chlarotera/hybocarpa and Putusaria hymenea shows the typical  black lines of the  “zone of antagonism”

Great Wood

Sessile Oaks

Beech

Polypody Fern on Sessile Oak; epiphytic polypody is characteristic of Atlantic woodland (temperate rain forest)

Overflowing beck next to this tree

Map lichen, Rhizocarpon geographicum (map lichen) on andesite outcrop; igneous rocks of the Borrowdale Formation; very common on hard siliceous rocks

Path between Great Wood and Arshess Wood

Silver Birch, looking across to the west side of Derwent Water to the Cat Bells fells

Ancient Hawthorn

Lichens on this Hawthorn

Oak Moss, Evernea prunastri;

Usnea sp., probably U. cornuta

Usnea sp, probably U. subfloridana

Platismatia glauca

Boulders are always worth investigating in areas of upland siliceous volcanic rock as they are often covered in lichens and bryophytes

These are some of the species on this boulder

Cladonia strepsilis Olive Cladonia

Pleurozium schreberi Red-stemmed Feather Moss

Cladonia ramulosa Branched Pixie-cup Lichen

Porpidia tuberculosa Boulder Lichen

Frequently, it was necessary to cross mini-waterfalls crossing the path that were a consequence of the very high rain over the days proceeding my walk

Looking up at temporary waterfalls caused by high rainfall  – image blurred by heavy rain falling on the lens of my camera

Ashness Bridge

Over Barrow Beck

 Its image is often seen to be adorning biscuit tins and tea towels Visits Keswick

Barrow Beck above the bridge, with the bridge stones covered in Rhizocarpon geographicum; very common on upland igneous rocks

Ashness Wood

Characterised by Sessile Oak, Quercus petrea and outcrops of Grange Crags Andesite. Igneous bedrock formed between 458.4 and 449 million years ago during the Ordovician period. British Geological Survey Geology Viewer

A large patch of fertile Ochrolechia androgyna with apothecia, on Sessile Oak. Apothecia are usually absent but when present have a pink-orange disc with a pale margin. British Lichen Society. O. androgyna is present it the southeast, but it is always infertile.

Infertile on Pedunculate Oak in Petworth Park, West Sussex

Billbury Vaccinium myrtillus, characteristic of upland heathland type H12 Calluna vulgaris – Vaccinium myrtillus heath British Plant Communities  1992 Cambridge University Press pp. 492 – 503

Billbury growing epiphytically on a coppiced Sessile Oak

Waterendlech Beck, behind the above Oak

Beyond the beck, Ashness Wood becomes Mossmire Coppice. In Cumbria, “moss” can also mean mire or bog as well as a bryophyte

This part of the wood was upland heathland bog

Billbury with Sphagnum Moss possibly  Sphagnum subnitens

Possibly Sphagnum girgensohnii

Bog with trees

The path, like in so many places, had become a beck

Waterendlath Beck at Ladder Brow

Walking back along the lakeside path to Keswick

A path completely flooded

A dry-stone wall at Calfclose Bay, just south of Keswick. Dry stone walls are always worth a look in Cumbria as they often have interesting lichens, bryophytes and ferns growing on them

1 Dicranum scoparium Broom Forkmoss

2 Cladonia squamosa Dragon Horn

3 Cladonia chlorophaea Mealy Pixie Cup

4  Polypodium asp. Polypody Fern

5 Diploschistes scruposus Crater Lichen

6 Dryopteris filix-mas Male Fern

7 Geranium robertianum Herb Robert

8 Bryum pseudotriquetrum Long-leaved Thread Moss (middle) (with Dicranum scoparium)

9 Pteridium aquilinum Common Bracken

I got back to Keswick just as the sun was setting and was very wet. Whilst it was a good day, arriving back in Keswick was not an unalloyed pleasure. Keswick is a simulacrum of former real Lakes town; it consists of 10+ outdoor shops selling overpriced outdoor items; pubs that charge a fortune for food, and tourist shops selling Beatrix Potter and William Wordsworth memorabilia; a triumph of consumerism over the intrinsic value of the beauty and culture of the Lakes. To capital everything about the Lakes is something to sell to tourists while paying retail and hospitality workers a pittance

I didn’t see any of the lichen species that Neil Sanderson, April Windle and Andy Acton (Atlantic Woodlands in Britain & Ireland .Temperate Rainforests and Southern Oceanic Woodlands) cites as typical of upland or lowland rainforest (see below). But I enjoyed what I did see; I like common beautiful things. Scarcity does not equate to beauty or enjoyment to me.

Upland Rainforest

Calicium lenticulare
Cetrelia olivetorum s. lat.
Graphina pauciloculata
Graphina ruiziana
Hypotrachyna endochlora
Hypotrachyna laevigata
Hypotrachyna sinuosa
Hypotrachyna taylorensis
Lecanora alboflavida
Menegazzia terebrata
Micarea alabastrites
Micarea stipitata
Parmelinopsis horrescens
Pertusaria ophthalmiza

Lowland Rainforest
Arthonia ilicinella
Arthopyrenia carneobrunneola
Arthopyrenia nitescens
Arthothelium macounii
Arthothelium lirellans
Bactrospora homalotropa
Crutarndina petractoides
Fissurina alboscripta (Graphis alboscripta)
Fuscopannaria sampaiana
Gabura fascicularis (Collema fasciculare)
Gomphillus calycioides
Leptogidium dendriscum (Polychidium
dendriscum)
Leptogium brebissonii
Leptogium burgessii
Leptogium cochleatum
Leptogium hibernicum
Parmeliella testacea
Pseudocyphellaria citrina
(Pseudocyphellaria crocata)
Pseudocyphellaria norvegica
Pyrenula hibernica
Stenocybe nitida
Thelotrema macrosporum

Some thoughts on the public information about Borrowdale Rainforest National Nature Reserve (NNR). I had to do lots of research to find where its constituent parts are. The National Trust website on the NNR doesn’t have a map and there is no Natural England visitors’ guide as there is for other NNRs. The only way I found out where the parts of the NNR were was by looking at the declaration of NNR map on the government’s website. I then had to cross reference this map with the OS map to find the names of the constituent woods of the NNR.

Borrowdale is a huge geographical area round Derwent and below, that includes ancient woodland, secondary woodland & conifer plantations. I know the difference between ancient woodland, secondary woodland & conifer plantations, but not everyone does. In Keswick Tourist Information, I asked about the Rainforest NNR, they knew nothing about it! The National Trust and Nature England need to get maps and public transport details online & in TICs otherwise few people will visit. You won’t widen participation without adequate information.

Paralecanographa grumulosa and other lichens on the walls of St Nicholas’ Church, Bramber, West Sussex. 24.06.25

My interest in this church was peaked by this listing in the Sussex Rare Plant Register (which also includes lichens)

Lecanactis hemisphaerica [now Paralecanographa grumulosa], Churchyard Lecanactis

This species, which usually occurs on window ledges on the north side of churches, was first found in Sussex by Francis Rose and Peter James on mortar on Pagham Church in 1990. Since then, it has been found at several other sites in Sussex. Its British headquarters is south-eastern England.

Location / Grid ref. / Last seen
West Thorney Church SU769024 1990
Boxgrove Priory SU907075 1990
Pagham Churchyard SZ883976 1993
Bramber Churchyard TQ186106 2001
Hamsey Church TQ413121 2001
Rodmell Church TQ421062 1990
Pevensey Castle TQ644048 1990
Camber Castle TQ921184 1997

I had never heard if this lichen, so I looked it up. It is now called Paralecanographa grumulosa and it is considered Nationally Scarce by the British Lichen Society

There are many more interesting lichens on the walls of this church. I have detailed some of them here. This is very far from a complete survey of the lichens of the church; these are just what I found on a two-hour visit.

North Wall

Paralecanographa grumulosa in the surrounds of windows of north walls of churches.

The fact that its apothecia were large, roundish and elongate, black, and partially  immersed. with grey pruina (see description in Dorset Lichens) made it obvious that this was P. grumulosa, even though I had never seen it before, as the description of its apothecia is unlike any other lichen I know. However, I did do a chemical reagent test, and a tiny drop of sodium hypochlorite turned its thallus red.

Also on the north wall was another rare lichen: Ingaderia vandenboomii. Rare, on vertical coastal siliceous rocks and on north facing church walls. BLS conservation evaluation: Least Concern but Nationally Scarce

When its thin, sightly uneven thallus is white-pink it is fairly easy to spot by overall appearance; but the thallus is not always white-pink. However, a tiny drop of sodium hypochlorite turned its thallus instantly red

Xanthoria parietina Golden Shield Lichen

Tephromela atra Black-eye Lichen

Myriolecis dispersa Mortar Rim Lichen

Variospora flavescens Limestone Lobed Firedot

West Wall

Variospora flavescens Limestone Lobed Firedot

Verrucaria nigrescens

Myriolecis albescens

South Wall

Verrucaria viridula

Myriolecis albescens

Variospora flavescens Limestone Lobed Firedot

Clauzadea monticola

East Wall

Sarcogyne regularis Frosted Grain-spored Lichen

Even if you are not interested in lichens, St Nicholas is a very  beautiful example of early norman architecture sited in a spectacular location next to the ruined Norman Bramber Castle

Bramber church stands on the same mound as the ruined castle and William de Braose, Lord of the Rape of Bramber, founded both. … The finest C11 work is in the crossing ..   The capitals are carved with volutes, heads and in one case the story of the fox and geese.  George Zarnecki (Zarnecki (1951) sees their flat carving, which is subordinated to the shape of the capitals, as further evidence of their C11 date.  Bramber St. Nicholas’  Sussex Parish Churches

Lichens in Ashburnham Deer Park 16.06.25, and in the Ashburnham Park Woods and Terraces 17.06.25

Ashburnham Deer Park 16.06.25

On Monday morning 16.06.25 I walked from West Lodge, Steven’s Crouch (“Crouch” likely originates from the Old English word “crūc,” meaning “cross” and is common in the south-east Family Search: Crouch) to Tent Hill (different sources suggest that either the Norman or Saxon army camped on Tent Hill the night before the Battle of Hastings. The historically accepted battle site is Senlac Hill where Battle Abbey now stands. 1066 Walk Guide), along the 1066 Country Walk, through what I believe is the remains of Ashburnham’s Deer Park. The Ashbourne Place Historic England Listing suggests that this area is the Deer Park from West Lodge is a track through the deer park, running parallel to the A271 Ashburnham Place Historic England Listing. In the afternoon I visited the relicts of Ashbourne Furnace

West Lodge, designed by Robert Adam in ca. 1780, is one of the gateways into Ashburnham Park. The central carriage drive has wrought iron double gates with an overthrow containing the design of a tree and a coronet. The gates are flanked by stone piers surmounted by couchant greyhounds in stone. On each side are pedestrian gates with overthrows and similar piers without the greyhounds on top. Historic England Listing

Photo © Historic England

I got to Steven’s Crouch by public transport: train from Brighton to Bexhill,  then bus from Bexhill to Steven’s Couch/Catsfield Road . Stagecoach 95 bus Bus Times. Steven’s Couch, where West Lodge is, is about a 20 minute walk west along the road from the Steven’s Couch bus stop.

It is hard to know exactly where the historic deer park was; but the quality of lichens along the path, on a wayside Oak and a pollarded Ash, suggest ecological continuity suggestive of a medieval deer park, as mentioned in the Ashburnham Place SSSI specification. The SSSI includes Cowland Wood, just above the 1066 path. The north-west outlier of the SSSI, so it is probably likely that the 1066 path runs through the pasture woodland of the medieval deer park, even though it is not the SSSI

Deerpark Cottage (called Lodge on OS map) just south of Cowland Wood

Deerpark Cottage, Ashburnham Place 3.8.61 II Early C17. 2 storeys. 3 windows. Ashlar. Tiled roof. Casement windows of 4-lights with stone mullions and dripstones over. In the centre is a gabled porch with a 4-centred doorway and a room over. At each end is a stepped chimney breast. Historic England Listing

Location of Cowland Wood;the north-east outlier compartment of the SSSI on this SSSI map. I did not have time to explore Cowland Wood

Quercus robur at the end of the strip of trees that points north-east toward Cowland of the main compartment of the SSSI

with Rinodina roboris

an International Responsibility lichen

Certain British lichen assemblages are rich compared with equivalents elsewhere in Europe, and are of international importance (Fryday 2002; Coppins and Coppins 2005). This is partly associated with our oceanic climate, but also results from the extent of semi-natural habitat with relatively clean unpolluted air, and significant numbers of old trees2 in parkland and old growth pasture woodland (e.g. Farjon 2017). This contrasts with large tracts of western Europe (Rose 1992). It is the assemblages of hyperoceanic lichens that are of greatest significance at a European scale, and these are largely confined to woodlands (2.1.1) and

Southern oceanic old growth woodland lichen assemblages are outstandingly well-developed in the south of Britain, especially from North Wales south to Devon and Cornwall and east to the New Forest (Map 2) (Rose and James 1974; Sanderson 2010). The range of lichen communities of interest is greater than in the rainforests, consisting of: base-rich bark (Lobarion pulmonariae and Agonimion octosporae), acid bark (Parmelion laevigatae), smooth mesic bark (Graphidetum scriptae and Pyrenuletum chlorospilae), rough mesic bark (Pertusarietum amarae), dry bark and lignum on veteran and dead trees (Lecanactidetum Lichen communities, such as the Lobarion pulmonariae and Parmelion laevigatae are found in particular niches, such as base-rich bark or dry overhanging rock. Several communities can co-occur in a habitat, or even on a single tree. Neil Sanderson, Tim Wilkins, Sam Bosanquet and David Genney 1018 Guidelines for the Selection of Biological SSSIs. Part 2: Detailed Guidelines for Habitats and Species Groups Chapter 13 Lichens and associated microfungi. Joint Nature Conservation Committee 2018

This Oak also had

Lepra amara

a characteristic species of the Mature Mesic Bark Community (Pertusarietum amarae).

and Ramalina farinacea

This exceptional pollarded ancient Ash Fraxinus sylvatica on Tent Hill

had Ramalina fraxinea, and International Responsibility lichen

A fruticose species with distinctive long, pendant, strap-shaped lobes. Most branches are flat or slightly caniculate, but wrinkled, and widen from the base. Well-developed specimens display large, pale fawn apothecia along its entire thallus. Ramalina fraxinea can be distinguished from Ramalina fastigiata by its long, pendant lobes and the presence of apothecia along its entire lobes rather than only the apices. Scottish Lichens: Ramalina fraxinea

It’s ironic that it’s on Tent Hill; where William the Conqueror’s army slept before the Battle of Hastings. His win resulted in the establishment of the deer parks created on land given to his vassal barons, which resulted in the pasture woodland that rarer lichens love!

Also on this Ash was: Phaeophyscia orbicularis 

and Lecanora gangaleoides with Physcia adscendens over growing it

and Pertusaria pertusa

 A characteristic species of the Mature Mesic Bark Community (Pertusarietum amarae).

The common ash, Fraxinus excelsior, is currently listed as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List. This means that while it doesn’t currently qualify for threatened status, it is close to qualifying or is likely to qualify in the near future. The primary threat to ash trees is the fungal disease known as ash dieback, caused by Hymenoscyphus fraxineus. Kew Gardens I have noted that pasture woodland Ash, seem to be doing better than Ash in tall forest woodland; perhaps because the space between trees in pasture woodland reduces the risk of infection

Ashburnham Park on Tuesday 17.06.25

I made a further visit to Ashburnham Park on Tuesday 17.06.25 after visiting with two lichenologist fiends on 12.06.25. See:

Lichens of Ashburnham Park SSSI 12.06.25.

This post only lists things that we didn’t see on Thursday, 12.06.25. This time, I travelled by public transport: train from Brighton to Polegate,  then bus from Polegate to Ninfield. Stagecoach 53 bus Bus Times. The walk from Ninfield to the entry to Ashburnham Park takes 49 minutes.

Woods

On the Quercus robur on the edge of the woods by the road near the main entrance was Varicellaria hemisphaerica

These Quercus robur have south facing trunks covered with lichens of the Pertusarietum amarae (mesic dry bark community): shade tolerant communities on rougher bark, with Pertusaria species dominant, and Varicellaria hemisphaerica

Varicellaria hemisphaerica

and it was also on an Oak in Walk Wood

Chaenotheca ferrungea in bark grooves of a Quercus robur

We saw this last Thursday; but not with pin-head apothecia; the pinheads were just visible of this example.

In Walk Wood there were a number of notable maiden Hornbeams, Carpinus betulus in the woods. Normally, when I see Hornbeams in Sussex, they’re coppiced and have few lichens (mostly Pertusaria leioplaca and the Graphidetum scriptae association with Graphis scripta). But the Hornbeams in Ashburnham Park were much older non-coppiced maidens, which seem to have lichens of the Pyrenuletum nitidae association (this is listed by James et al (1977) a continental association, the tail end of which is seen on ancient Beech and Hornbeam in south east England  ….probably a separate southern oceanic community characterised by Pyrenula chlorospila with Enterographa crassa and Pyrenula macrospora) as well as of the Graphidetum scriptae association British Lichen Society Lichen Communities These hornbeam mosaics require more time than I had available to identify all their species.

This is probably Pyrenula chlorospila

on this Hornbeam

Possibly Enterographa crassa surrounded by Pertusaria hymenea & possibly Lecanora compallens

Pertusaria sp. surrounded by Graphis scripta sensu lato. The revision of the Graphidaceae lichens in the Lichens of Great Britain and Ireland III has split Graphis scripta into more than one species, and spore microscopy is required for definitive identification of Graphidaceae lichen

Lecanora chlarotera/hybocarpa (microscopy of the apothecia crystals with polarizing light is required to separate L. chlarotera from L. hybocarpa) was part of these Hornbeam mosaics.

In the extreme north east of the wood around Reservoir Pond, where we hadn’t visited on Thursdays 12.06.25 there were several huge ancient Quercus robur near the perimeter fence, next to open parkland

which had quite a lot of Enterographa crassa on smooth patches around its base

The Terraces

The terraces are on the front (south) of Ashburnham Place; they are approached by two central flights of steps bedecked with heraldic greyhounds. The terraces were designed by Neo-Classical architect George Dance in 1813.

Pyrenodesmia variabilis, previously Caloplaca variabilis an Terrace wall. Not common in Sussex and not recorded at Ashburnham despite being often surveyed as its an SSSI, probably because the terraces of the house are not in the SSSI blocks.

Kuettlingeria teicholyta, previously Caloplaca teicholyta, was abundant on the walls of the terraces and on the greyhound garden statutory on the pedestals next to the steps to the terraces

The limestone greyhounds were dominated by Kuettlingeria teicholyta and Circinaria contorta, with yellow flashes of Variospora flavescens

Many of the walls were dominated by Verrucaria nigrescens and Myriolecis albescens; all common on old walls.

Maidenhair Spleenwort, Asplenium trichomanes, one of my favourite ferns. The moss Grimmia pulvinata, was also common on the walls, as it is on many Sussex old walls.

Lecidella stigmatea was also present on the walls

Lichens at Stopham Church. 14.06.25

Francis Rose considered St Mary’s to be one of the best churches in Sussex for lichens.  At present Stopham Church has the highest score, with over 130 lichens present Rose 1995 The Habitats and Vegetation of Sussex p.27. I didn’t have much time today for a good look today as I stopped off for just two hours in my journey back home from leading a bird walk; my total fell well short of 130!

The church stands on high ground near the confluence of the Arun and the Rother.  Most houses are nearby, well away from the fine mainly C15 bridge (no longer used by through traffic), where the risk of flooding was too great. Sussex Parish Churches: Stopham

Churchyards are of supreme importance for lichen conservation, particularly where there are no natural outcrops of rock. Of the 2000 British species, over a third have been found in churchyards and more than 600 have been found growing on churchyard stone in lowland England. Many are scarce and some seldom, if ever, occur in other habitats. Many churchyards are found to have well over 100 species. Churchyards provide an excellent environment for the study of lichen biology and colonisation. British Lichen Society Churchyard Lichens

South-facing wall

Lecanora polytropa Granite-speck Rim Lichen

Haematomma ochroleucum

Porpidia soredizodes

Myriolecis albescens

Candelariella vitellina Common Goldspeck

West-facing Wall

Myriolecis albescens

Tephromela atra Black-eye Lichen

Cladonia chlorophaea 

Cladonia pyxidata

North-facing Wall

Ingaderia vandenboomii

Psilolechia lucida Sulphur Dust Lichen

Glaucomaria sulphurea

Variospora flavescens Limestone Lobed Firedot

Diplotomma alboatrum

Leproplaca chrysodeta

East-facing wall

Circinaria calcarea Calcareous Rimmed Lichen

Tephromela atra being parasitised by Glaucomaria sulphurea

From a Scarce Silver-lines Moth to Fallow Dear, via Gold Dust Lichen and a Crow: an Ancient Pedunculate Oak and the biodiversity it supports. Petworth Park. 10.06.25

All the photos in the post were taken by me on one day (10.06.25). apart from the Great Spotted Woodpeckers, all the species photographed in this blog were living on, in or under a single Pendunculate oak at SU 96936 22927

I approached this Oak from a distance, walking through the pasture woodland of Petworth Park. Wood pasture is classified as a mosaic habitat valued for individual park-like trees particularly veteran and ancient, and the fauna, flora and fungi it supports, including a number of species that only occur in wood pasture and parkland. Grazing animals are fundamental to the habitats existence and many sites are also important historic landscapes. Woodland Trust Wood Pasture

SU 96936 22927 is the blue pin. What Three Words

As I got near, I realised that there was a bright green shape on the trunk, highlighted by the grey of the oak’s trunk. As I got closer I realised it was a beautiful moth.

I used the Obsidenity App to make a preliminary identification in the field as I hadn’t seen this species of moth before. I then checked this identification in my field guide later. I used Obsidentify for all the invertebrates I saw around this Oak, and checked the observations with field guides at home. It is a Scarce Silver-lines Moth,  Bena bicolorana. The caterpillars feed on the leaves of oak (Quercus).

When I reached the Oak I could see that part of it was dead; this part appeared to have been killed, probably by heart-rot fungi. This is the way most Quercus robur die, but the process of dying is long. The decorticated decomposing heart wood had many holes.

Most of the known species dependent on oak trees are invertebrates, and a majority of these interact with the fungi in the tree in some way. Many make their homes and find their food where heart-rot decay fungi have been in action, leaving partially decayed material that is physically broken down by insects, creating mounds of composting wood mulch that creates further habitat for other invertebrates. Oaks and fungi in the UK.  R. Wright, J. Finch & N. Brown. 31/05/2022

An insect landed on my hand. A believe it is a Lymexylon navale. A beetle belonging to the family Lymexylidae. The size of this beetle can vary a lot, between 8-15mm. Its yellow with black head and orange pronotum. The larval development take place in fresh oak wood in parts lost the bark. Saproxylic beetles

Saprolyxic organisms, especially insects, that are directly or indirectly dependent on dead or decaying wood for at least part of their lifecycle. Buglife: Saprolyxic Invertebrates

Lymexylon navale, commonly known as the ship-timber beetle, is a type of wood-boring beetle that is associated with wood structures, including ships, houses, and trees. Specifically, its larvae are wood-boring and can damage both sapwood and heartwood in living and decaying trees, as well as timber structures like ships. 

An uncommon beetle in Britain it is which is currently designated as Red Data Book 2 (vulnerable). Nature Spot Lymexylon navale

The larvae of Lymexylon navale bore into wood, which can weaken and damage ship and other wooden structures. Lymexylidae, including Lymexylon navale, have a symbiotic relationship with certain fungi. The larvae create tunnels in the wood, and the fungi grow within these tunnels, providing a food source for the larvae. Ship-timber beetles have been found in ancient shipwrecks, indicating their long-standing association with human-made wooden structures. Lymexylidae also play a role in the ecosystem by helping to break down wood and are an important food source for other animals. Sources: Sônia A. CasariLarva of Atractocerus Brasiliensis (Lepeletier & Audinet-Serville, 1825) (Lymexylidae, Atractocerinae) Universidade de São Paulo, Museu de Zoologia , São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil;  Cletus P. Kurtzman, Christie J. Robnett (2013) Alloascoidea hylecoeti gen. nov., comb. nov., Alloascoidea africana comb. nov., Ascoidea tarda sp. nov., and Nadsonia starkeyi-henricii comb. nov., new members of the Saccharomycotina (Ascomycota). FEMS Yeast Research 13: 423–432. doi: 10.1111/1567-1364.12044 (published in Spanish and English) and Piper, Ross 2007 Extraordinary animals : an encyclopaedia of curious and unusual animals.

This Lymexylon navale (and its many mates) may have made the holes into which I saw, what I believe to be Trypoxylon attenuatum.

A widely distributed species recorded from much of Britain, including the Scilly Isles and the Channel Islands. … Has been recorded from a variety of habitats including woodland, parkland, gravel pits, sandy sites, chalk grassland and heathland. … On the wing between mid-May and mid-September… Nest burrows are stocked with small spiders such as Tetragnatha (Tetragnathidae) (Lomholdt, 1984).Nests are constructed in pre-existing cavities. Richards (1980). … Richards (1980) gives a generalised overview of Trypoxylon nesting sites such as “Anobium burrows, cut stems, hollow roots, rarely in small holes in vertical earth-faces”, but T. attenuatum seems to nest “exclusively in hollow plant stems” (Lomholdt, 1984). Nests are constructed in cavities 2-4 mm in diameter (Tormos et al., 2005). Bees Wasps and Ants Recording Society Trypoxylon attenuatum..

So it sounds as if Oaks may not be a typical nesting sites for this solitary wasp.

I then moved on to looking at lichens – the primary purpose of my trip to Petworth Park.

First I saw Gold Dust Lichen, Chrysothrix candelaris

I initially got very excited because I thought it may be the rare pin lichen Chaenotheca chrysocephala; which had been recorded on a specific Quercus robur nearby, but it wasn’t!

When I was looking at lichens on the bark I saw two more invertebrates. One on the bark next to a lichen I was examining, and one which fell on my jumper.

The one on the bark was Oak Leafhopper nymph, Iassus lanio. Leafhoppers are [sap sucking] insects belonging to the family Cicadellidae in the order Hemiptera. They are recognized by their piercing-sucking mouthparts and by the presence of rows of spine-like setae (hairs) in their hind tibiae. Dietich Leaferhopper Lab

The relatively short and broad form of this genus is characteristic; the head is wide (equal to the width of the pronotum) and the sides of the pronotum are shorter than the eye.In I. lanio the forewings vary in colour from green to pale brown and the vertex, pronotum and scutellum are heavily dark-mottled. The vertex is rounded and uniformly narrow from above. …common on oak across the UK. Adult: June to OctoberLength 6.5-8 mm British Bugs: Iassus lanio

The insect that fell on my jumper:

was a Striped Oak Bug, Rhabdomiris striatellus

A very striking bug which is frequently found on or near oak across Britain, but particularly in the south. Females are usually paler then males. The only possible confusion risk is the larger and more elongate Miris striatus, which has a completely yellow/orange cuneus and an entirely dark head. Overwintered eggs hatch in April, the larvae feeding on unripe catkins and becoming adult from mid-May onwards. Adult: May-July British Bugs: Rhabdomiris striatellus

There were many lichens on the Oak; here are few of them:

Physconia grisea Grey Frost Lichen

Dendrographa decolorans.

Thin whitish, lilac-grey or pinkish-grey thallus. When the surface (fungal hyphae) of the thallus is scratched, its photobiont (an alga of the orange Trentepohlia) is revealed.

Evernia prunastri. The vernacular name of this lichen is Oak Moss; even though it is not a moss! It is very common on Oaks, but it is common on other trees too.

Most of the lichens on this oak were of the Mature Mesic Bark Community (Pertusarietum amarae); shade tolerant communities on rougher bark, with Pertusaria species dominant. They are particularly characteristic of Beech and Ash, but also on less damp Oak bark. The basic community is composed of widespread species particularly Pertusaria s. lat. species British Lichen Society Lichen Communities

Pertusaria pertusa Sometimes called Pepper Pot lichen, for obvious reasons.

Pertusaria flavida; the orange part of this photo, which can only be identified (by turning orange) with UV light and/or a chemical spot reagent test, which reacts to lichen substances (mostly secondary metabolites). I did both the UV and the reagebts tests in the filed

Lepra amara The vernacular name of this lichen is Bitter Wart Lichen, because it tastes very butter if licked. I do not lick it to confirm its identification!

As I was identifying these lichens I head a Crow, Corvus corone, directly above my head. When I looked up a parent crow was feeding a juvenile. Here is the juvenile

Crows can nest almost anywhere, but they prefers well-covered trees with broad branches and solid tree forks, like Oaks

Crows are not the only birds to use Oaks. Earlier in the day I saw two Great Spotted Woodpeckers, Dendrocopos major, drumming on the trunk of another Pendunculate Oak. Great spotted woodpeckers can be found across mainland Britain, but are limited to the west of Ireland. Mature broadleaved woodland is prime habitat Woodland Trust Great Spotted Woodpeckers

At this point I walked into Petworth to get a coffee. When I came back I could see Fallow Deer under the tree. A social, elegant species with a signature speckled coat and mighty palmate antlers. First introduced by the Romans, fallow deer became extinct in Britain until they were reintroduced before the Norman Conquest around the year 1,000. Woodland Trust Fallow Deer

The herd of Fallow Deer have been at Petworth Park, according to the National Trust, for 500 years. The magnificent herd of fallow deer have called Petworth Park home for over 500 years; they were reportedly hunted by Henry VIII on his visit to Petworth in the 1520s. National Trust Petworth Park. There were probably Fallow Deer in the park since the land was gifted by Henry I (the fourth son of William the Conqueror) to Joscelin de Louvain, a Norman feudal baron. The pasture oaks of the deer park have provided shade for Fallow Deer for nearly 1000 years; this ancient oak has been shading deer for probably 400 years. The Fallow Deer I saw today are johnny-come-latelys!

The Lichens of Nettlecombe Park; A British Lichen Society Intermediate lichen course (LEAF 1) at Nettlecombe Court, Somerset, 30.05-2.06.25.

LEAF stands for Laboratory Extension and Fieldwork. I would really recommend the British Lichen Society’s courses, for dates of courses see British Lichen Society Latest News It was a fabulously enjoyable and informative course. Tutors: Nicola Bacciu, Pat Wolseley, Fred Gibson and Lindsay Mahon

I travelled to Taunton from Brighton on 29.05, and kindly got a lift from one of the course participants to Nettlecombe Court. The court and its parkland is on the fringes of the Brendon Hills, within the Exmoor National Park, Sommerset,

Its a Grade I listed building, see Nettlecombe Court for Historic England’s listing; with a Late medieval hall, cross passage and wing, a 1599 entrance front, porch, great hall and parlour, a circa 1641 addition to rear of great hall, a 1703-7 South West front extended and staircase added in angle, and plasterwork on stair added in 1753.

The court is surrounded by 60 hectares of parkland, once a part of the estate. The park surrounding the house is Grade II listed on the National Register of Historic Parks and Gardens.

In 1066 Nettlecombe was held by Godwin, son of Harold. In 1086 the Domesday Survey described it as held by the King for a knight’s fee. It was granted by the King to Hugh de Ralegh in 1160 and the grant of free warren was made to Simon de Ralegh in 1304. In 1440 the then owner, also Simon de Ralegh, died childless, leaving the estate to his nephew, Thomas Whalesborough. Thomas’ son, Edmund, died during his father’s lifetime and the estate descended to Edmund’s sister, Elizabeth, who was married to John Trevelyan of Cornwall. Since 1440, the Trevelyan family has kept a record of the management of the estate, now held in the Somerset Record Office, Taunton. The first mention of a park at Nettlecombe appears in a survey of 1532, recorded as being of 80 acres (c 33ha) in a later survey of 1556, and deer were first recorded in 1593. Although deer parks are known to have existed at Nettlecombe since the late C16, the first conclusive evidence of a designed landscape appears in an engraving, published in 1787, The park was enlarged with the addition of the Great Park in 1755 and South Park in 1792. National Register of Historic Parks and Gardens Listing

The parkland is an extremely propitious habitat for lichens. Pat Wolseley one of the course leaders, and Francis Rose wrote a fascinating article: Nettlecombe Hall: its history and its epiphytic lichens – an attempt at correlation, in 1984 for the journal Filed Studies. It can be downloaded here: https://www.field-studies-council.org/resources/field-studies-journal/nettlecombe-park-its-history-and-its-epiphytic-lichens-an-attempt-at-correlation/

Here are Lichens we saw (all photos taken by me; Lichens marked * were new-tom-me and were identified by the tutors, Nicola Bacciu, Pat Worsley, Fred Gibson and/or Lindsay Mahon)

One of the main learning points for me was considering lichen communities

The Lobarion pulmonariae community

The Lobarion pulmonaria is composed mainly of large foliose lichens and robust bryophytes and appears to be the natural forest climax community on mature hardwood trees with barks of pH 5.0-6.0 in western Europe outside areas with Mediterranean climates. It is now very much fragmented in distribution due to the felling and management of primeval forests, drainage and various forms of pollution. In drier areas it tends to be confined either to sheltered glades in more open forests where there is more light, or to the upper boughs of trees. James, P.W., Hawksworth, D.L. & Rose, F. (1977) Lichen communities in the British Isles: a preliminary conspectus. In: Lichen Ecology (ed. M.R.D. Seaward): 295-413. Academic Press, London.

Old forest and parkland – (the Lobarion pulmonariae alliance)

The Lobarion pulmonariae alliance includes a mixture of bryophytes and lichens found on basic barked trees more than 150-200 years old, mainly Ash and Oak, but sometimes on Lime, Maple and Sycamore.  It is a characteristic community of ancient woodland and parkland and contains many local and rare species.

The large leafy Lobaria pulmonaria and Ricasolia virens are both present and although rare, they locally form luxuriant colonies in ancient woodlands where they are both found fertile. Leptogium lichenoides and Peltigera horizontalis occur rather frequently, but other large leafy lichens with a blue-green photobiont such as Ricasolia amplissima, Nephroma laevigatum, Pannaria conoplea, Parmeliella triptophylla, Peltigera collina, Sticta limbata and S. sylvatica are all now rare. There are many small, crust-forming species associated with this community including Bacidia biatorina, Catinaria atropurpurea, Coenogonium luteum, Gyalecta truncigena, Leptogium teretiusculum, Biatora epixanthoides, Mycobilimbia pilularis, Thelopsis corticola, Pachyphiale carneola, Rinodina roboris and Thelopsis rubella, plus the rarer Agonimia allobata, A. octospora, Lecania chlorotiza, Piccolia ochrophora, Porina coralloidea, P. rosei, Strigula jamesii, S. phaea and Wadeana dendrographa. Bryophytes associated with this community include Homalothecium sericeum, Leptodon smithii, Leucodon sciuroides, Metzgeria furcata, Tortula laevipila and Zygodon baumgartneri. British Lichen Society Document. John Skinner et al. 2024 Revised FG 2025 Rev. 1.2 EPIPHYTIC LICHEN COMMUNITIES NETTLECOMBE  – June 2025

We saw most of the following lichens on Quercus petraea and a single Q. cerris in Nettlecomb. In Sussex, where I live, this community is only found in a few places, viz. Paddockurst Estate, Eridge Park, East Dean Park Wood , Parham Park, Ashburnham Park and Pads Wood, but only Eridge Park, still has Lobaria pulmonaria itself.

Lobaria pulmonaria

Parmotrema crinitum *

Arthonia vinosa *

Gyalecta truncigena *

Aquacidia viridifarinosa *

Mature Mesic Bark Community (Pertusarietum amarae)

The Pertusarietum amarae are shade tolerant communities on rougher bark, with Pertusaria species dominant. They are particularly characteristic of Beech and Ash, but also on less damp Oak bark. The basic community is composed of widespread species particularly Pertusaria s. lat. species: Pertusaria albescens, Lepra amara (Pertusaria amara f amara), Pertusaria flavida, Pertusaria hymenea and Pertusaria pertusa along with Phlyctis argena and Ochrolechia subviridis. This is a common community in drier areas but gets displaced by moss dominated communities in strongly oceanic areas. Within old growth stands it can be rich in old woodland species including Arthonia vinosa, Cliostomum flavidulum, Mycoporum antecellens, Phaeographis dendritica, Lepra multipuncta (Pertusaria multipuncta) and Thelotrema lepadinum. The rare taxa include Reichlingia zwackhii (Arthonia zwackhii), Melaspilea amota, Stictographa lentiginosa (Melaspilea lentiginosa), Lepra pulvinata (Pertusaria amara f. pulvinata), Pertusaria pustalata, Varicellaria velata (Pertusaria velata) and Phaeographis lyellii. British Lichen Society Lichen Communities

We saw these lichens on a Nothofagus fusca and mostly Quercus petraea at Nettlecombe. In Sussex this community can be seen at Eridge Park, Parham Park, Petworth Park, Wadhurst Park and Buxted Park in particular

Pertusaria hemisphaerica

This Pentatoma rufipes Forest Bug fell onto my bag whilst standing under the Nothofagus fusca

Pertusaria coronata *

Lepra corallina *

Pertusaria flavida *

Ochrolechia androgyna *

Opegrapha vulgata 

Thelotrema lueckingii *

On decorticated lignum (Quercus pretera)

Calicium glaucellum *

Twig flora community Lecanora chlarotera-Arthonia radiata – the Lecanoretum subfuscae In open grown wood pasture and parkland the canopy is well lit and the twig flora is well developed. The most frequent species are Arthonia radiata, Lecanora chlarotera, L. hybocarpa and Lecidella elaeochroma, with Evernia prunastri, Fuscidea lightfootii, Hypogymnia physodes, H. tubulosa, Melanelixia subaurifera, Parmelia sulcata, Punctelia subrudecta and Physcia aipolia also present.  In more exposed sites the presence of Melanohalea laciniatula, Physcia tenella, Xanthoria parietina and X. polycarpa indicates slight levels of ammonia or nitrogen enrichment British Lichen Society Document. John Skinner et al. 2024 Revised FG 2025 Rev. 1.2 EPIPHYTIC LICHEN COMMUNITIES NETTLECOMBE  – June 2025

We saw these lichens in the orchard at Nettlecombe. This is a very familiar community to me, as it is the community on Hawthorn and younger trees in Sussex

Physcia aipolia

Hypotrachyna revoluta (with Ramalina fastigiata)

Hypotrachyna afrorevoluta

Glaucomaria carpinea 

Ramalina fastigiata with Xanthoria parietina

We also saw Ramalina farinacea, Lecanora hybocarpa, Lecidella eleachroma, Usnea cornuta; but I did not photo these.