Church Farm - Abandoned Orchard

Following on from the last post I visited the abandoned orchard on Sunday 21^st August to see what summer delights could be found.

The start of footpath from Church Road was strewn with litter, but this aside the plant life hinted at the damp area this is in the winter time. There were large patches of mint and also clumps of rushes and willow trees dotted around,  as well as areas of bare clay, now dry and cracked. The steam, which was in full spate during my winter visit, was a calm backwater of still water on this visit.

The dormice tubes had been removed by the ecological surveyors, although the marking tape still dangled from tree branches, indicating where the tubes had previously been placed.

I saw one or two pear trees, but the area is now covered in self-seeded oak & hazel trees, plus the willow trees mentioned earlier. A further sign of dampness under the shady canopy of the growing oak trees was a great collection lichens attached to the branches and trunks of the trees and old dead bramble stems.

Growing up in the 1970’s lichens were pretty rare to find in south east England, but now that air quality has improved somewhat, lichens which require less polluted air are starting to reappear. It was good to see them in this neglected part of the site.

Perhaps that is just what wildlife needs to survive, patches of land which are just left to nature’s care.