Another walk on the wild side

One of the unforeseen side-effects of the corona-virus has been that on the ecosystem around us.
The withdrawal of human activity in places has allowed wildlife to flourish. One place that this can be seen is along the tow path of the canal. With the suspension of the regular mowing and strimming, a number of Spring flowers this year have been given the chance to flower and grace the place with their beauty. No doubt the fine weather has helped the process but an exercise walk down from the Bridge to Lock15 will provide a delight for the eyes and spirit.
On the bank opposite the Bridge Inn you will see English Bluebells beginning to show. We have been nurturing these since their disastrous encounter with the strimmer a few years back.. This year they have spread even further along the bank. Perhaps in a few years time the whole bank will be a sea of blue at this time of year.
Carrying on beyond Lock13 and keeping to the right, away from the mooring boats look along the bank and if you look carefully, you will see a patch of Primroses and then a brilliant bush of Gorse

Now we come to a real feast

On the bank on the right by Lock14, a number of wild flowers have re-established themselves after a suffering similar fate to the bluebells. In particular, you will now see increasing numbers of the yellow Lesser Celandine, the white Greater Stitchwort, the purple Bush Vetches, the beginnings of Common Field Speedwell (a tiny blue flower) and with good eyes you can see the tiny yellow flowers of the Crosswort.
Beyond this lock the bank continues to reveal delights with purple dog violets, more celandine and a forest of Lords-and-Ladies, not the most spectacular plant at this time of year, with the red fruits of late Summer far more ere-catching than the orange/brown spiky flowers. Tucked down between these are the small yellow and white flowers of Barren Strawberries. Look now towards the canal and on the edge, the pinkish-white, delicate flowers of Lady's Smock this year have made a come back (normally strimmed before they come to flower).
These are some of the perhaps more interesting plants to observe but do not despise the more common varieties such as the sunshine yellow Dandelion which provide an important food source for insects and Cow parsley with its multi-headed white flowers, a favourite for butterflies.
Speaking of which on a sunny day, notice the Orange-tip (whitish colouring) and the multicoloured Small Tortoiseshell, and in shadier places the Speckled Wood Butterflies (brownish).

And so to Lock 15

As you come to Lock15, look across to the Lock Gardens already in the process of being planted for the season by the ADAPT Lock15 Gardeners Group. In the Shade Garden, to left of the garden plots, Cowslips are visible and for those with good eyes the gorgeous purple or white flower heads of Snakeshead Fritillary.

Now there's something to lift our spirits during these strange times.

Why not see if you can see these plants on your exercise walk and maybe if you are with your children play I-Spy with the check list which can be downloaded if you click on the link below the photo.