Annual Picnic at Hinksey Heights - Saturday, 16th August
Blog by Sally. Photos by Julio.
We held our annual picnic at Hinksey Heights on Saturday, 16th August with all the amenities it has to offer, not least the walk around the Hinksey Heights Nature Trail, which leads from the Golf Course past a field overlooking Oxford and around the second largest area of alkaline fen in Oxfordshire (we still haven't worked out where the largest area is!)
As Eleanor and Ursula share the same birthday in August, we hold the picnic on a Saturday near to their special day.
Luckily, the weather proved not to be as hot as had originally been forecast and 17 of us enjoyed a walk along the Nature Trail, praising the Trail Volunteers who have done a magnificent job in constructing a bridge and replacing large sections of board walk. We noted that to the area of fen nearest Harcourt Hill that they were in the midst of diverting the path around it. The Nature Reserve has changed since we last visited, with a larger area having been cut and raked by the Fen Restoration Volunteers, three of the "regulars" being Barbara, Jim and Sally from Green Gym, who work under the direction of Freshwater Habitats Trust, who now manage the project.
The new notice board and leaflets
I see no ships! Philip, Jan, David and Dieuwke a-pond-ering!
A gathering of Green Gymmers
This is where we had originally intended to picnic, but having reserved the Golf Club's marquee as a wet weather venue, they kindly let us book it on an exceptional basis as we were allowed to bring our own food on this occasion. This left the picnic tables free for other visitors to use.
The new information board about the fen
Sally explained that this was the second area of fen that the volunteers had started to cut (using scythes) and rake off. In recent years, a number of alkaline fen plants have been reintroduced to the fen through FHT's "GroWet" project and from other alkaline fens in the area. These, along with plants that have come up through the seedbank, are increasing the biodiversity of the fen, but the volunteers have to continue their efforts to keep reed growth down as this blocks out light and prevents other plants from thriving. Marsh lousewort is also one of the plants that has been reintroduced. This is an ecosystem engineer, as its roots suppress the growth of common reed by sucking up sugars from the reed's roots (in a similar way that yellow rattle acts on rye grass).
Time for a selfie! The hungry walkers.
We continued around the trail and came back over the new bridge, which was much admired by all.
Having worked up an appetite, we couldn't wait to get back to lay out our offerings of food and desserts in the marquee and for lunch to begin, which Carolyn, our party planner, had beautifully co-ordinated so that we'd all brought something different for everyone to enjoy including lots of home made goodies. Everyone had generously given. Lesley and Rosie were there to greet us, too, as they'd been unable to join us on the walk, so we became 19 for the Nineteenth Hole!
We then paid a visit to the bar in the Nineteenth Hole to get our drinks before we tucked in to a veritable feast. We gave the birthday girls their cards. The marquee was filled with happy conversation. Somehow, we all managed to leave sufficient room for pudding!
The spread!
All in all, it was a very convivial occasion and once everyone had enjoyed an elegant sufficiency, it was time us to clear everything away and return to our cars. But not without thanking Carolyn for her efforts in organising the picnic and also the friendly bar staff at the Nineteenth Hole for their excellent service and to those behind the scenes at the Club to make it possible for this to happen. As we left, there was also time to pause to take in the view of Oxford, looking glorious even under an overcast sky.
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