A is for Angerton MossPart of the Duddon Mosses Nature Reserve, managed by Natural England, designated a Special Area of Conservation.
What of the name? Was it named by Scandinavians or the English, or a mix of the two. Tun in Old Norse is farmstead. and in Old English town. Angr in OE is bay or there is a suggestion it could have been a Scandinavian personal name Arngeirr. Who knows, but it is an area that has changed over many thousands of years.
There are a network of paths into the mosses. At the moment the bracken is as high as an elephants eye, but as I have not seen any in the area, its certainly taller than me. Let me take you over one of the bridges. Dry here
but further in you will find the sphagnum moss
There are lots of trees surrounding the paths, including silver birch and rowan. The berries on the rowan trees in full sun are red, but their shadier companions berries are still yellow, at the moment. The air is fresh and clear and this shrubby lichen (Ramallina farinacea) shows the air quality is good. It was certainly windy at the weekend when I took this.
Now we have reached the boardwalks over the raised mire with rich vegetation growing in the peat. It was a lovely warm day as we walked on the boards.
This was New Year's day which was a beautiful, clear, sunny frosty day (good for clearing the head). At mid day the boardwalk still had a layer of frost.
Here is the bog cotton at its blooming best in May. Now you can see why there are boardwalks. This fluffy plant is always a good sign, wherever you are, that it is probably not a good place to take a walk, and to go round not over. Wonder if anyone has disappeared here, who knows whats down there.
This is an area rich in bird life, and niche and rare flora. There are also lots of invertebrates, especially dragonflies, the four-spotted chaser dragonfly larvae breed in the mosses. As we walked though at the weekend there were lots of butterflies and damselflies but none of the whirling dragonflies. I wonder if some species numbers are down after last years wet summer. Here are a pair who were around in May.
Amble over to Mrs Nesbitt's ABC Wednesday to see the rest of the participants in Round 5.
8 comments:
An interesting 'A' post, Joy...I love the boardwalks...and the lichen on the tree...
It looks a wonderful area, rich in flora and fauna - but not very suitable for dog walking! My poor tripod would get stuck in the mud in no time!
We have a boardwalk area here, down by the river. It's a nature reserve, but not so much boggy as a way to get from one tiny island to another. I guess it's officially a wetland.
I would love to be able to take a walk there.
An Arkies Musings
What an interesting spot - reminds me of the book, The Girl of the Limberlost, - same kind of country I think.
This is really interesting. Last week I was at Cranberry Glades in West Virginia, USA and it is very similar to this place. I love the quote at the top of your blog. I have added you to those I follow and hope to see more intersting site from your area.
Such a beautiful place to visit. I suppose that it is the wet climate that keep the moss growing. Thanks for giving us a marvelous and beautiful tour.
Your post is very interesting. Beautiful pictures and great commentary. I love it.
Beautiful shots and post.
Post a Comment