Tag Archives: #Lancashire

The Common Field Grasshopper

The chirping of grasshoppers is a familiar sound in the British countryside during the summer months and certainly contributing its song to this chorus is the Common Field Grasshopper, Chorthippus brunneus, which is one of our most common and widespread grasshopper species. Its scientific name is rare in being perfectly descriptive of the creature, (youContinue reading “The Common Field Grasshopper”

Padiham Greenway, Part One

There are several thousand miles of closed railway lines around the British isles, many of which have been re-purposed as footpaths, bridle-ways and cycle-paths for the use of the public. Many of these were closed in the decades since the ‘Beeching cuts’ of the 60’s, when the incumbent Chairman of the British Railways Board, RichardContinue reading “Padiham Greenway, Part One”

Meadow Crane’s-bill

Meadow Cranesbill, Geranium pratense, is a perennial wildflower of the British countryside and is in bloom from June to August, its scientific name pratense means ‘of the meadow’ but it is often found on roadside verges, embankments and hedgerows too. Its nectar-rich flowers make it an important and popular plant for many species of pollinatingContinue reading “Meadow Crane’s-bill”

The Lady of the Stream

Otherwise known as the lady of the stream, the Grayling, Thymalus thymalus, is a freshwater fish native to the British isles and here in the northwest we’re lucky enough to have many rivers this beautiful fish deems pleasant enough to call home; In Cumbria the rivers Eden and Derwent, the latter known as ‘the queenContinue reading “The Lady of the Stream”

Northwest Recipes; Elderflower Cordial

The famous British novelist and journalist Sebastian Faulks once said, “If I could eat only one thing for the rest of my life, it would be rhubarb fool, which I would make with ginger and a hint of elderflower cordial”. Now that the hedgerows are white with the delicately formed and scented flowers of theContinue reading “Northwest Recipes; Elderflower Cordial”

The Ephemeral Phenomena of Noctilucent Clouds

So far this year we haven’t really been blessed with that many cloudless nights but the few we have had did provide us with some opportunities to espy spectacular night-sky phenomena such as the Aurora borealis a few weeks ago. That display was an absolute boon for photographers and astronomers, especially those who combine theContinue reading “The Ephemeral Phenomena of Noctilucent Clouds”

The Large Heath Butterfly

The Large Heath Butterfly, Coenonympha tullia, also known as the Common Ringlet and, locally, as the Manchester Argus, is mainly found in wet boggy moorland areas of northern England and Scotland, with a few isolated colonies in Ireland, Wales and Southern England. They can be found at a few spots in the Northwest; Winmarleigh nearContinue reading “The Large Heath Butterfly”