Shalford Village is a Member of The Hundred Parishes Society
View more at :- https://shalford-essex-pc.gov.uk/the-hundred-parishes/
As summer arrives, we hope that readers will continue to enjoy the walks listed on our website www.hundredparishes.org.uk . These varied routes provide a wonderful opportunity to appreciate the variety of wildflowers growing in field margins, hedgerows, verges, churchyards and village greens.
After this season’s chilly start, the warmer days have encouraged an abundance of flowers to provide essential nectar and pollen to support visiting pollinators. With the increasing concern about the alarming reduction in insect numbers, many of those caring for green spaces have adopted the ‘NO MOW MAY’ approach to grass maintenance, where the uncut grassy places can support a surprisingly large number of different native species. Their flowers add variety to these areas and the bees benefit as well!
Wayside plants such as Stinging Nettles, Goosegrass (the long, hairy plant that sticks to your socks) and Cow Parsley thrive alongside lanes and tracks. Cow parsley, with its splay of tiny white flowers, can grow to chest height. A touch of pink is often added by the flowers of Red Campion, also known as Bachelor’s Buttons as it might have been worn as a buttonhole by unmarried men.
Common bright yellow flowers include Dandelions and the shiny golden petals of a great variety of Buttercups. The tall Ox-eye Daisy is often present where wildflower mixtures have been sown. In recent years these have become a common sight beside new roadways.
The yellow and orange pea flowers of Birds Foot Trefoil are found in shorter turf; it has many alternative names including Granny’s Toenails or Eggs and Bacon. Other members of the pea family are rich in nectar and include White Clover or the blue flowered Tufted Vetch.
The types of wild flower I have listed can be seen and enjoyed almost everywhere in the Hundred Parishes. There are many more varieties to be seen and occasionally something quite rare. For smart phone users there are apps (such as PlantNet) to help with identification, but we do not have to be experts to appreciate nature’s abundance.
Tricia is one of the Society’s trustees and a botanist. Her contributions remind us that there is so much to enjoy in the natural world of the Hundred Parishes.
I will repeat previous encouragement for you to try some of the walk routes that can be downloaded from our website, www.hundredparishes.org.uk. We continue to add new routes. One that we can especially recommend over the next few days is number 148, starting near Rickling Green and passing several woods that are currently rich in bluebells. The full route covers 6.8 miles and there is an option to reduce the distance to 4.9 miles.
If you enjoy one of our walks – or even if you don’t – please send feedback. We especially want to hear if a route description could be more helpful or if something has changed.
Most of our routes go past a pub or tea room; I hope we will all soon feel comfortable about using them again and enjoying their full hospitality. Let’s hope that we don’t lose many venues because of the enforced closure during the pandemic.
Ken McDonald, Secretary.