Short Trip to Herefordshire - Part 1: Hatfield

 

E is on holiday this week and she wanted to spend her birthday at the caravan so we spent 3 nights in Herefordshire - sadly yet another too short a break! It was good to return however even if just for 3 nights.

Timothy back on his shelf.

Not sure if I have shown you this before - I do love old British Rail County posters and this is a print of one for Herefordshire which I really like. I've since bought one featuring Weobley which I will  take a photo of next time now its up on the wall.

The Herefordshire Oak is now coming into leaf :)

But not the Ash - the Octopus Tree is still bare.

As an old country rhyme says

"Oak before Ash in for a splash

Ash before Oak in for a soak"  

Hopefully that may mean it will be drier later in the year rather than the constant rain we have had recently! Although I suspect there is probably not  a lot of truth in the saying!

The Constable Tree - still bare too.  Not sure which species this tree is but perhaps Ash too??

Last year's herb pot - pleased that parsley survived the winter.

The apple tree is starting to flower - in fact, orchards we passed were full of blossom too.

Honesty and Garlic Mustard in the border under the Hawthorn hedge and Red Campion.

One morning I spotted a pair of Red Legged Partridge on the lawn and gravel in front of next door's caravan.  This is a new species for me at the caravan site.  I assume like the Pheasants we see there they have managed to escape the attentions of gun shooters after game. Hopefully, they will remain on site and be safe!!

Red Kites were seen several times over the site.  The hedgerows are full of flowering Cowslips, Cow Parsley, Greater Stitchwort, Wild Garlic, Garlic Mustard and Bluebells. Hawthorn is coming into flower too.  I only detected bats one night on the bat detector during our stay. B has planted a selection of wild flower seeds in the border and re-potted some of the plants in pots.

Monday evening we went for a lovely meal at the Fountain Inn near Tenbury Wells to celebrate E's birthday.  (Photo from a previous visit).

One afternoon I visited a church at Birley - St Peter's - which has family connections which I will write about in the next post. It was good to be church crawling again. There are so many churches on my list to visit in Herefordshire.

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 or one of my son's I would appreciate an email first - thanks).

Herefordshire 2023 - October Visit - Part 5 Queenswood Country Park and Arboretum

 

Queenswood which is only 20 minutes away is a place where we all enjoy walking so we visited on the Saturday morning. Silly day to go really as it was packed!  

Queenswood comprises 123 acres of ancient mature woodland on Dinmore Hill which has been designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and an arboretum with many species of rare and exotic trees from around the world.  

It was once part of a large area of ancient oak woodland which stretched to the Welsh Borders. A Royal Forest where only the king and his nobles could hunt venison. As deer and boar hunting became less popular the woodland was managed for timber and coppiced.  Much of what was left of King's Wood gradually became farmland and only this small remnant remains.  Its name was changed to Queen's Wood during the reign of Elizabeth I.  Some decades ago there were rumours that the wood would be sold to a property developer for the construction of bungalows. To prevent this happening the Herefordshire branch of the Campaign for Rural England raised funds to successfully save the wood.  When they could no longer afford to maintain it it was leased to Herefordshire Wildlife Trust and Leaf Sustainable Development.

Over time native species felled between 1914 and 1918 were replaced and a public appeal in 1953 led to the planting of an arboretum of 1200 rare trees to mark the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II.  

Many species of native trees have been recorded at the site and there are dormice hidden away and fallow deer.  There are a good variety of bird, wildflower and butterfly species.

There is a trail for families called the Gruffalo trail with statues to find.

We walked up to the viewpoint where you can see Bodenham Lakes in the distance which is another Herefordshire Wildlife Trust reserve.

We eventually followed the Deer Trail for a while which is quieter than the main routes.

Back on the Gruffalo Trail!

There is a very good shop selling goods on behalf of the Wildlife Trust and I bought some Christmas Cards. They had some really good books but I resisted the temptation!  We sat outside the cafe and had a lunch of cheesy chips.

As we left we spotted a display of woodland fungi collected by local naturalist societies for UK Fungus Day and there was a good selection. I was pleased to see Earth Star as I have never seen it before.

Here's the Earth Star in the centre

In the evening we went (early to avoid the crowds!) to have a meal to celebrate our wedding anniversary a week early at the C17th Fountain Inn in Tenbury Wells.  The food there is very good and there is a good selection of vegetarian dishes.

(I didn't take the camera so the photos of the pub are from an earlier visit)

All photos taken by me with the Panasonic Lumix FZ330 bridge camera - for some reason D didn't take photos this holiday. (I don't particularly rate my photos but if anyone wishes to use one I would be grateful for an email first - thanks).

Reference: "Fifty Gems of Herefordshire" by David Phelps Amberley Publishing 2022.