On the Wednesday we went for a local walk at Hatfield. There is a lovely lane by St Leonard's church that only leads to farms so there is very little traffic and it is ideal for a short walk.
We walked as far as the disused railway line and bridge. B hasn't been down this lane before - I usually do this particular walk with D when he is with us.
The disused railway line was a section of the Worcester, Bromyard and Leominster railway connecting the latter two towns. The line was approved in 1874 but not completed until 1897. It closed in 1952.
I said hallo to this sheep and for a few moments I thought it was going to follow me down the lane!
Ivy flowers and berries and a lone Herb Robert flower.
Hazel catkins are forming - it seems very early to me.
We stopped off at the church as I wanted to look for Waxcap fungi in the churchyard. Waxcaps appear in grasslands and lawns in late summer and autumn and some of them are very colourful indeed. They need grassland that has not been disturbed by farming equipment or fertilised so churchyards are ideal places to look!
Oontitoomps!
Sadly I couldn't find any waxcaps in the churchyard but we did have a conversation with a man working in the church who produced a very interesting folder full of information on the church and churchyard. A lady in the village had surveyed the churchyard for wildlife and there were lists of wild flowers, birds trees, lichens, bryophytes and fungi etc that she had found. It is a brilliant resource. She had listed a type of waxcap that she had found called a "Witch's Hat" or "Blackening Waxcap" (Hygrocybe conica). It was good to know that one species does occur there. The gentleman also mentioned the church will be holding a Flower Festival next May so I really will try and go to that.
B found a very old gravestone at the back of the church dating back to 1754.
St Leonard's is the third oldest church in Herefordshire. The nave is C11th and may even date back to before the Norman Conquest. The chanced was added in the C14th. I couldn't leave without taking a photo of one of my favourite doorways - the blocked North doorway with 3 stones on the lintel and the typanum with Opus Reticulatum ie square stones set diagonally.
On the Thursday we visited Croft Castle which I will write about in the next post.
All photos taken by me with the Panasonic Lumix fZ330 bridge camera. (I don't particularly rate my photos but if anyone wishes to use one of my pictures or my son's I would be grateful for an email first - thanks)
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