Floral walk...

THE first week of June is the best time of the year to find our native orchids in the Ulverscroft Valley.

On a fine sunny morning 30 members of the Friends of Charnwood Forest set off from Poultney Farm on Priory Lane led by Kim Turner.

To help us identify the local flora we were accompanied by Uta Hamzaoui, a conservation officer, and botany expert from the Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust.

The first part of our walk was around Ulverscroft Pool, the source of the River Lin. The Pool was created by the Earl of Stamford as a fishing lake some 200 years ago by damming up the natural springs.

The River Lin flows through Newtown Linford, Bradgate Park and into Cropston Reservoir. It is the shortest river in Leicestershire and home to brown trout and even lamprey.

Amongst the ancient wetlands surrounding the water are many rare species quite unique in the county including Pale Sedge and Flea Sedge.

We strolled towards the SSSI sites which surround and include Herbert’s Meadow owned by LRWT. These neutral grasslands contain a rich biodiversity of wildflowers, including three species of orchid. We first saw the reddish pink Fragrant orchid and then the paler common spotted orchid followed by the Heath spotted orchid. It is interesting to think that these fields are exactly as they would have been seen in Medieval times. Other good indicators of old grasslands are Great Burnet, Greater Bird’s -foot-trefoil and Devil’s-bit Scabious.

This area of Charnwood Forest, with areas of acid soil, is home to Matt-grass which again is unique in Leicestershire.

Our morning walk concluded with some light refreshments kindly provided by our host Kim Turner.

If you are interested in any of the plants mentioned above, or wish to identify any wild flowers you find in Leicestershire and Rutland go to www.naturespot.org.uk