Frilford Heath SSSI, 25th June 2016

By Andrew -
This session was our second visit of the Summer to Woodhaven. We knew that since our first visit two weeks ago, more Himalayan Balsam, previously concealed by the nettles and other vegetation, would have sprung up. Eight of us were there on a fairly bright morning, but with threatening clouds. As we walked alongside the meadow we saw orchids in flower.

 We made our way towards the wood and set up our base and then set off in various directions to tackle the known hot spots. The central part of the wood, which  we have worked on for several years, was fairly clear, we were glad to see. A large treeless area on the edge of the wood, which we had cleared last year in a couple of evening sessions, had quite a bit of balsam, but not nearly as much as before.

 As we stopped for tea break, the rain began to fall heavily, so we donned waterproofs. Suggestions about packing up early began to be heard. The rain eased off a bit and some blue sky appeared. The more hardy among us, i.e. me, were all for carrying on, but I was outvoted and we packed up and returned to the cars.

 Shortly after driving off, the heavens opened and we were treated to a cloudburst of biblical proportions, so I have to admit, cutting the session short was probably a good idea after all.
We have one more session at Woodhaven, though we hope to return for a couple of impromptu short evening sessions if the weather settles down and we get some sort of Summer.
-Eleanor
Petra pulling up HB

An orchid

A wet tea break

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