1998 Derbyshire 9 June One Day Meeting
The party of 14 met at Wye Dale car-park. One lady unfortunately fell, injured herself and retired, but the remainder re-assembled near Litton Mill. They admired the large colonies of Silene nutans (Nottingham Catchfly) and Geranium sanguineum (Bloody Crane's-bill) and, further on, Ribes alpinum (Mountain Currant) was hanging over cliffs like a curtain. A short walk along a disused railway line forming part of a walking route known as the Monsal Trail brought the remains of the previous season's Monotropa hypopitys (Yellow Bird's-nest) in adjacent scrub. Permission had been obtained from the Derbyshire Wildlife Trust and the voluntary wardens to visit two nearby reserves. The first of these, Miller's Dale Quarry, supports fine colonies of Daphne mezereum(Mezereon), some specimens of which were seen in fruit. In spite of intensive cutting and winching out, this series of quarries, large spoil heaps, ash woodland and remnant grassland is suffering from considerable Hazel scrub invasion. A moderate number of sheep have been introduced for a couple of years, with the intention of reducing their number as the situation improves. The grazing had decreased the interest of the site and, as planned, the group did not linger long, but climbed steeply to their second objective, Priestcliffe Lees Reserve. This constitutes about 60 hectares of grassland, limestone scrub, ash woodland and lead spoil heaps, supporting a very rich flora including Sorbus rupicola, Rubus saxatilis (Stone Bramble) and Epipactis atrorubens(Dark-red Helleborine). Southern members were interested by the presence of three Alchemilla (Lady's-mantle) species.
A steep descent regained the Monsal Trail where an extensive stand of Hieracium prenanthoides was in evidence. After pausing to admire Carex ornithopoda (Bird's- foot Sedge) and Gymnocarpium robertianum (Limestone Fem), the return route was along the minor road to Ravenstor.
A short stop was made, near Wye Dale, to view Saxifraga x polita (False Londonpride), before a longish car drive, through Monyash, to the upper portions of Lathkill Dale. There was much Saxifraga hypnoides (Mossy Saxifrage) and Draba muralis (Wall Whitlowgrass), but the highlight was the stand of Polemonium caeruleum (Jacob's-ladder). The final stop was at Matlock Bath, where steep wooded slopes were clad in Festuca altissima (Wood Fescue), with Tilia platyphyllos (Large-leaved Lime) nearby.
JOHN HAWKSFORD