Dunsop Bridge, Forest of Bowland

Thursday 18^th August 2022

Leader: David Nelson

This was a joint trip with Nelson Naturalists Society, with 14 of us meeting on this rather grey morning. I had never been to this site, or the Forest of Bowland before, so was looking forward to finding out what it was like.

David led us out of the village, then along a path and minor road which followed the course of the River Dunsop to the north of the village. At the edge of a small woodland we found Great Horsetail (Equisetum telmateia) and a few leaves and flowers of Sanicle (Sanicula europaea). We were treated to a display of large numbers of Swallows and House Martins flying overhead near farm buildings. We crossed a footbridge over the river, and the view opened up to reveal the pleasant scenery of the valley. Soon after the footbridge, we came across Western Gorse (Ulex gallii), some of us using our identification books to examine the features which distinguish it from Gorse (Ulex europeaus). Jesse then found the leaves of Round-leaved Crowfoot (Ranunculus omiophyllus) in a ditch. Imperforate St John's-wort (Hypericum maculatum) was a good find and some of us spent a little time examining it to determine it’s identity. It’s relatively uncommon in this part of the world, being more common in Wales and the west of England. The leaves of Marsh Violet (Viola palustris) were numerous. Lemon-scented Fern (Oreopteris limbosperma) was found at the edge of the track, the leaves giving off a faint citrus smell when rubbed.

In a marshy area we came across the star species of the day, Ivy-leaved Bellflower (Wahlenbergia hederacea). This is a beautiful, delicate plant and it was lovely to see. It is also more commonly found in Wales and south-west England, but here it was quite numerous over a relatively large area. I had to tread carefully to avoid squashing any!

In the same area, there was Round-leaved Sundew (Drosera rotundifolia), Cranberry (Vaccinium oxycoccos), Marsh Arrowgrass (Triglochin palustris), Marsh Pennywort (Hydrocotyle vulgaris) and Heath Milkwort (Polygala serpyllifolia), so it was very good spot to explore. Also in this area, some of us saw an enormous fly, which turned out to be a Giant Horsefly, the largest species of horsefly in Britain. It stayed long enough to pose for photos before flying off!

A little later on, we came across a spectacular display of Persicaria runcinata, an introduced species with attractive round heads of pink flowers. In a side channel off the river, there was Small Sweet-grass (Glyceria declinata), Bog Pondweed (Potamogeton polygonifolius) and some especially large plants of Water Horsetail (Equisetum fluviatile).

We then re-traced our steps back to the car park, spotting a few more species along the way, such as some relatively large flowers of Knotted Pearlwort (Sagina nodosa). I really enjoyed exploring this attractive area. Thanks were given to David for leading the walk.

Text by Tom

Photographs by David, Tom and Susan