All about the Natural History and History of the Northwest of England
Speckled Woods are a familiar butterfly to most of us here in Britain yet are often overlooked in favour of flashier species like the Peacock or Red Admiral.
Understated and widespread they may even appear dowdy compared to their lepidopteran cousins yet, as with any wild creature, patient observation reveals them to possess more beauty and character than you would ever suspect.
A creeping, mat-forming plant Purple Saxifrage possesses small, opposite, overlapping leaves (hence the latin epithet oppositifolia) that are fleshy with a tiny pore at the tip which can exude lime in calcareous conditions. Its solitary flowers, typically 1 to 2cm across, sit on short stalks and feature five petals ranging from a pale pinkish-purple to rich violet, sometimes with darker veining.
For the Upland Gamekeeper spring is a season of intense activity, a critical time of fast change at the fulcrum between the wild & windy months of winter and the more benign months of summer, when the moors become vibrant with life.
Tucked away on the outskirts of the quiet village of Read, in Lancashire’s Ribble Valley, sits Read Park, a 450 acre estate surrounding Read Hall, a Grade II listed manor house that has been a local seat of power for over half a millennia.
Adults are very smart and distinguished in their breeding plumage, sporting a silvery-grey back and upperwings, a clean white underbody, and a distinctive black cap. Their bill is long and orangey-red with a black tip, while their legs are short and red. In flight, they show a buoyant, floating style with narrow, angular wings, often hovering before plunging to catch prey.
St Leonard’s Church stands proudly in the heart of Padiham, Lancashire, and is a striking example of Victorian Gothic Revival architecture that continues to serve its original purpose. While its current building dates from the late 1860s, the story of worship on this site stretches back further, more than 570 years, and traces the changing fortunes of the community from medieval village through industrial mill-town to the place we know and love today.
OF all the blithesome melody that wakes the warm heart’s thrill, give me the wind that whistles free across the moorland hill; When every blade upon the lea is dancing with delight, and every bush and flower and tree is singing in its flight.
The notion that traditional English food is inherently bland and unseasoned is a stubborn modern myth, one largely born from the austerity and rationing of the mid-20th century, when wartime shortages and postwar frugality stripped many tables of flavour and variety.
In truth, English cookery, especially in the medieval and early modern periods, was, as we can see here, rich with seasoning, colour, and aromatic complexity.
Northwest Nature and History