Dog Lane discoveries

So after all, spring and summer ran away with us … but here we are once again - with renewed enthusiasm, and also with a plug for the Local History Society's meeting in November at which Nicky Hewitt, of the RSPB, will  give a presentation about the natural history of the Pebblebed Heaths.  You may remember her impassioned letter to the Woodbury News in October 2014, which she kindly allowed us to re-publish here, too. The meeting will be on Thursday 5 November, 7.30pm at Woodbury Village Hall.


This time we are in Dog Lane, which runs up towards Woodbury Common for over a mile from the crossroads with Stony Lane and White Cross road.  It joins Castle Lane near the ridge of the Pebblebed Heaths, by Woodbury Park hotel and Golf Club.

Dog Lane near the junction of Stony Lane
and White Cross Road, looking towards the Common

The lower stretch starts inauspiciously as a very narrow lane between high banks - which nevertheless have a variety of hedgerow trees and shade-loving plants, such as ferns and Cuckoo Pint (or Lords-and-Ladies).  It is very sad to report once again the damage to the bases of these banks.  On both sides they have been badly eroded - perhaps by hedge-flailing machinery in August, which appears to have entirely filled the width of the lane.  There is a real risk of washing away during the winter, which could compromise the stability of the banks.

Common Polypody

The bright red berries of Cuckoo Pint, or Lords-and-Ladies,
are toxic to humans but loved by birds

Further along, the lane becomes a more rewarding walk, with occasional far-reaching views beyond Exeter.

Looking back towards Stoke Hill beyond Exeter

View to the Raddon Hills, from field-entrance
at the turning to Cannonwalls Farm

Continuing upwards, the habitats become increasingly varied.  The two dips in the road near Coombe Park Farm are particularly lovely - pictured here in early-June.

Field-gate looking towards the rear of Little Coombe Kennels,
early June

Two deep goyles (dialect word for a steep, narrow valley) have been incised by the stream which rises in Castle Brake, and a small tributary - which continue together to form the lake at Merehaven Manor, before joining the Grindle Brook near Winkleigh Farm, and hence to the River Clyst.  It is easy to imagine that the depth of the lane at this point may have been emphasised by the regular movement of animals from local farmsteads up to the Common.

View uphill from the goyle near Coombe Park Farm, below,
in early June

The small wood on the left here is the remnant of a larger piece of land which was known as Worth Forest.  It was an area of just over ten acres stretching uphill alongside the lane, over what is now part of the golf course.  It was shown as woodland on the Tithe Map of 1839, and on OS Maps until the middle of the twentieth century.

Although 'forest' in modern usage usually refers to a large tract of densely wooded land, it is in fact a mysterious word, originating in Europe, which meant land on which deer were protected by special bylaws.  The word and these laws were introduced to England by William the Conqueror, and for many centuries 'Forest' (with a capital F) meant a place of deer.  It was an unenclosed area - often a large common - where either the king or another magnate kept deer for hunting.

Might Worth Forest therefore once have been a deer park?  We have begun to research this intriguing possibility.  Further up the lane, the road and the verges become much wider, the hedgerows are ancient, and the flora, particularly on the left side of the lane, becomes much more varied.  Perhaps this could support our speculation ….

This small woodland does still have a deer population, and a local resident has had regular recent sightings of young twins or triplets on the lane here.

Worth Forest

It is wonderful to be able to report that, in this upper stretch of Dog Lane, Sally recently spotted the highest diversity of plant species here that she has ever seen.  This might be particularly because the verges have been uncut this summer, making a salutary comparison with those further down the lane.  This matters because wild flowers are disappearing at an alarming rate, and small steps such as delaying cutting can make all the difference to their survival and to maintaining biodiversity - not just the plants but all the insects, birds and animals that they support.

Upper Dog Lane looking towards the Common (above),
and back towards Woodbury (below)

One very exciting discovery was a clump of Sneezewort, a plant which (according to Sarah Raven) declined significantly during the twentieth century, with losses increasing more recently due to land drainage and habitat destruction.  It can still occur in old, unimproved meadows and areas of grassland that have not been sprayed, but is a rare find.  It is aptly named for its widespread use in the past to fight coughs and colds - a tincture of its leaves apparently cleared heads by inducing sneezing.

Sneezewort [sourced at seasonalwildflowers.com]

Four other less usual finds were Nipplewort, Pale Persicaria,  Tormentil, and Hemp Agrimony [images all sourced from http://www.seasonalwildflowers.com]

Nipplewort 

Pale Persicaria

Tormentil

Hemp agrimony

One fairly unusual sighting was of the Jersey Tiger Moth, a day-flying moth.  In Britain until recently it was confined to the Channel Islands and parts of the coast - on the mainland being most common in South Devon.  But in recent years it has appeared in Dorset and the Isle of Wight, and seems to be extending its range quite rapidly, with a thriving population now in parts of London.

Jersey Tiger Moth

Lastly, here's a curiosity often found on Field and Dog Roses - the Bedeguar Gall, or Robin's Pincushion.  This structure is created by a chemical reaction within the plant to a gall wasp laying her eggs in an unopened leaf bud.  The name 'Bedeguar' derives from a Persian word meaning 'wind-brought', and 'Robin' refers not to the bird, but to the sprite of English folklore, Robin Goodfellow.  Hard though it may be to believe, in the past these galls were dried and powdered and used to cure whooping cough, toothache, rheumatism and colic.  Mixing their ashes with honey and applying them to the scalp was thought to cure baldness, and they were also used as a charm against flogging!

Robin's pincushion gall

Spring messengers: flowering in the lanes since Easter

'Bright as the sun himself'

Since Easter, many plants in our hedgerows and verges have been bursting into flower almost too fast to catch up with them!  Here is a selection we spotted in the lanes up to the Common over the last few weeks, though many are already making way for others.

Lesser celandine

"There is a Flower, the lesser Celandine,

That shrinks, like many more, from cold and rain;

And, at the first moment that the sun may shine,

Bright as the sun himself, 'tis out again! ...."

[From William Wordsworth, To the Small Celandine]

Lesser celandine is one of the first flowers of the year, and was often known as 'spring messenger.'  It was the favourite flower of the poet William Wordsworth, who wrote, "It is remarkable that this flower,  coming out so early in the Spring as it does, and so bright and beautiful, and in such profusion, should not have been noticed earlier in English verse."   Even today it is still often under-appreciated - especially by gardeners because of its romping habit, particularly in disturbed ground.  However, a different view is that the carpets it forms everywhere along lane edges and banks, so early in the season, are a joy to behold.

Primrose

Celandines and primroses growing together

The primrose is the prima rosa, the first flower of the year.  Its pure yellow flowers have made it a more or less universal token of spring, and especially of Easter - despite the fact that in some sheltered areas of the country it flowers almost throughout the year.  There used to be many customs associated with giving primroses at this time, which were thought to have contributed to the flowers' decline nationally.  It is now considered just as likely, however, that, where they have reduced or disappeared, it is often a result of their habitat becoming unsuitable through spraying, drainage, or shading.

Dog violet

Common dog violet is the most widespread species of violet.  The poet John Clare wrote of this spring flower:

"...  And just to say that spring was come,

The violet left its woodland home,

and, hermit-like, from storms and wind

Sought the best shelter it could find,

'Neath long grass banks, with feeble flowers

Peeping faintly purple flowers... "

[From John Clare, Holywell]

White violet - more rare than the purple varieties

Celandines, primroses, and violets growing together
in Walkidons Way

Greater Stitchwort

Dogs Mercury

Wood spurge

The bright acid-green flowers of Wood spurge were known in Somerset as 'Devil's cup-and-saucer.'

Gorse

Gorse almost never stops flowering - hence the saying, 'When gorse is in blossom, kissing's in season.'  It is one of the signature plants of common-land and rough open space, and - being abundant and fast-growing - it has been used for many functional roles, such as fuel, cattle food, an anchor for drying laundry, brushes, and (in flower) as a source of colour for Easter eggs.  It occurs locally on the Common and on former marginal land, as well as in hedgerows.

Wood anemone

Wood anemone is one of the earliest spring flowers and one of the most reliable indicators of ancient woodland.  It spreads by very slow root growth - no more than six feet in a hundred years - so it is a very confined plant, rarely extending beyond its ancient traditional sites.  These are usually in long-established woodland, though in the West Country it also occurs in hedge-banks.  We spotted it in Hogsbrook Wood, and along the short lane between Toby Lane and Dog Lane.  

Wild strawberry

During a local history walk in Woodbury last summer, local farmer Ray Brown reminisced about his childhood in Rydon Farm.  He mentioned a bank along Rydon Lane where he used to pick strawberries as a child, but there is no sign of them today.  This is just one example of how habitats change - perhaps partly through land-use practices, partly through increasing shading.  It feels good to have spotted these wild strawberries in flower in Upper Dog Lane.

Red Campion

Bird's-eye, or Germander, Speedwell

Honesty

Cultivated in this country since the sixteenth-century, honesty is increasingly commonly found in hedgerows.

Greater Periwinkle

Another garden escape is Greater periwinkle - now widely naturalised also.

Pink Purslane

Alexanders

 Alexanders is a robust, juicy plant that thrives near the coast and is one of the first to be seen in spring.  It is very edible, with a flavour like celery, parsley or chervil, and was almost certainly introduced by the Romans for this reason. 

Red Dead-nettle (above),
and White Dead-nettle (below)

Yellow Archangel (here in bud)
is also in the Dead-nettle family

Information in this post has come mainly from Richard Mabey's book, Flora Britannica, and Sarah Raven's Wild Flowers.

The Historic Environment Action Plan, and the landscape of Woodbury Parish

The Historic Environment Action Plan (HEAP)

Back in 2013, the East Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (funded by English Heritage) piloted this innovative project in two parishes - Woodbury and Branscombe.  The Project aimed to identify and explore the most important heritage features in each parish's landscape, to consider what issues are affecting them, and to create a strategic and community-based Historic Environment Action Plan (HEAP).  A HEAP is intended to be a positive statement of what each parish values and why, what future steps could be taken to explore its heritage further, and how these might be achieved.

In Woodbury, the Project was co-ordinated by the Local History Society, with the participation of other interested individuals. Building on 20 years of research activity, a group of Society members responded by asking new, deeper questions about some (out of many possible) elements of the historic landscape, particularly since the time of the Tithe Map in 1839 - a digitised version of which is available online at the Woodbury village website.

Four historic mapping workshops took place in the parish, of which two were in Woodbury Salterton.   Several key participants of the Project were from Woodbury Salterton: Prof Patrick Dillon and Priscilla Trenchard carried out a Subjective Geographies project in the village, which you may remember from questions they asked at the mapping days, and to the school and the WI.  Sally Elliott made an extensive assessment of old woodland, and Diana Wackerbarth assisted Roger Stokes of the History Society in compiling the final report, pulling together a very wide and idiosyncratic variety of contributions.

That report is now complete, and has been published on the Woodbury village website (click on 'Woodbury HEAP report' in the Contents list on the left-hand side of the page), and the Woodbury Local History website.   Funding is being explored to print hard copies for wider circulation in the parish. 

The reports of both the participating parishes, and also Lympstone, are also available on the East Devon AONB website.   If you ever wondered what Woodbury Salterton looks like from the point of view of a dog or a horse, the Subjective Geographies report is also on that website - and is very informative about perceptions of the village.

You may also be interested to see the excellent and very different way that Branscombe parish has taken the work forward - especially if you came to one of the mapping days and wondered, 'What next?'  See the Branscombe Project's website.

Future of the Project

The Woodbury report is a mine of information, description and illustration.  But in a way both reports just mark the end of a first stage, and questions of significance and future action have still to be explored.  Here are some next steps:

• Sat 18th April - East Devon AONB Historic Landscape Conference. The results of the HEAP Project will be presented at this conference at the Norman Lockyer Observatory in Sidmouth.  Anyone is welcome to attend if you are interested  http://www.eastdevonaonb.org.uk/uploads/documents/conserve/Culture%20and%20Heritage/flyer.pdf
• A Woodbury News article will be appear after that meeting, when there is more clarity about the future of the HEAP Project as a whole. 
• Thursday 3rd Sept in WVH  There will be a joint Woodbury History Society meeting with the Branscombe Project, at which both groups will present their reports - visitors welcome to the meeting.
• 'Woodbury Then and Now'  The Woodbury Camera Club is undertaking a project to re-photograph a number of historic views of the villages in the parish from Roger Stokes' vast collection.  They will show the first results at the joint meeting on Sept 3rd, and are also working towards putting on an exhibition and publishing a small book. 

Several ideas arose from the process, and those of us in Woodbury Salterton would like to take some of them forward - for instance, a local history walk in the village, and a series of related talks or other events.  If you are inspired by any aspect of the Project, we would love to hear from you.

As a taster of the report, here is the section we wrote as background on the landscape of the parish.  The information was drawn from the Parish Design Statement, the Parish Biodiversity Audit; the local history publications 'Woodbury Parish: 1894-1994'  by Sally and Ramsay Elliot (eds.), and 'Woodbury: a view from the Beacon' by Ursula Brighouse; and from 'Interpreting Landscapes' (2010) Christopher Tilley (Chap 6, 'Sensory experience on the East Devon Pebblebeds).

The landscape of Woodbury Parish

Woodbury Parish lies south-east of Exeter, between the city and Exmouth.  It is one of the largest in Devon (with a population in 2001 of 3,337), and occupies 6,531 acres of gently undulating rural land.  It is also perhaps one of the most diverse in the county, in terms of its variety of landscape.

In the west at Exton, the Parish extends into the middle of the Exe Estuary, with its internationally important salt-marshes and mud flats; and in the east, to the hills of the East Devon Pebblebed Heaths, where one of the largest expanses of lowland heath in southern Britain can be found.

Between these lies a broadly agricultural landscape of fields, which are mostly intensively managed pasture or arable land.  Away from the main roads, the network of narrow winding lanes, between Devon hedge-banks, has miles of traditional species-rich hedgerows with mature hedgerow trees.  Combined with these, scattered small woodlands and copses make the landscape appear very wooded.  Nestled within it are the three main villages of Woodbury at the centre of the parish, Woodbury Salterton and Exton, together with the hamlets of Grindle, Gulliford, Nutwell, Venmoor and Woodmanton, and a number of individual farms. 

The variety of scenery, elevation, aspect and ecology in the parish is considered to be a large part of the charm of its heritage.

The parish can be seen as a whole from the highest point of Woodbury Common, about 175m above sea-level on the Pebblebed Heaths.  Its situation can be understood within a far wider landscape adjoining on one side Lyme Bay – which can be seen eastwards towards Dorset along the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site to Beer Head (and sometimes as far as the Isle of Portland) – and, on the other, the Exe estuary and South Devon coast south-westwards to Berry Head. 

To the west the view extends beyond the Haldon Hills to Dartmoor, to the north beyond the Raddon Hills to Exmoor, to the east to East Hill ridge, to the south-east to Peak Hill and High Peak, and to the south to the estuary of the River Otter at Budleigh Salterton, and the heathlands north of Exmouth.

Much of the parish landscape is underlain by Littleham mudstone, a mixture of mud and silt that creates the fertile, heavy clayey subsoil characteristic of the area, and also greatly influences local drainage.  There are occasional sandy outcrops, such as Windmill Hill (close to the northern boundary of the parish) and the low ridge to the west of Woodbury.  A particular feature of the soils is the multitude of large pebbles contained within them, known locally as ‘pobbles’ or ‘popples’.  These originate from the slopes of the Pebblebed Heaths, and their wide use in vernacular building has created a distinctive local style.  The ridge of the Heaths is the remains of an ancient riverbed that flowed from south to north through a red sandy desert.  Formed entirely of pebbles, it is absolutely unique in the United Kingdom.  [See also the blog post of October 2014 which included an article by Nicky Hewitt of the RSPB about the Commons].  At the base of its steep western scarp slope, a springline drains towards the Exe estuary and the River Clyst.

The parish is rich in areas of particular landscape and habitat significance.  The East Devon Pebblebed Heaths are part of the East Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.  Their lowland heathland habitat is one of the most important conservation sites in Europe, designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest, a Special Area of Conservation, and a Special Protection Area.  Below the heathland, the belt of farmland includes an area adjacent to the AONB in the southeast of the parish that is designated an Area of Great Landscape Value.  In addition, the Exe estuary is nationally important for its coastal habitat and designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest and a Special Protection Area, and is also a Ramsar site for its international significance as a waterfowl  habitat.

The known human story of the parish begins around 7000BCE with hunters of the Mesolithic period, through the Neolithic woodland clearance from about 4000BCE, and the Bronze Age creation of at least 26 round barrows on the Pebblebed Heaths between about 2000 and 1000BCE.  These are the oldest known monuments in the locality and suggest that it was a significant funerary landscape in that period.  Two of the barrows are important landmarks on the ridge of the Commons.  Also prominent on the highest point of the skyline – and with exceptionally long views in every direction – is the early Iron Age hill-fort of Woodbury Castle. 

The extent of Roman presence here is uncertain, but the landscape of farms and smallholdings, ancient field patterns and banks, sunken lanes and hedgerows is, however, of great antiquity.  Much of the existing settlement pattern was established in Saxon times, when Woodbury acquired its name, and medieval strip fields still exist in some places.

In the modern era, the character of the parish has been much affected by its proximity to Exeter (7 miles) and Exmouth (4 miles), and to national road, rail and air communications.  Alongside the many ancient and historic features, the contemporary landscape includes diversification of agricultural land into more recent new housing, business parks and leisure uses. Currently, many fields around the settlements are under threat of further housing development.

New planting at Parkhayes Plantation

Parkhayes Plantation is the triangle of open woodland alongside a tarmac footpath at the west end of the village, bordering Lower Road and accessible from Parkhayes, too.  It is managed by Woodbury Salterton Residents Association (WSRA) on behalf of the Parish Council, and is being developed for enhanced public enjoyment, greater biodiversity, and as an educational resource. We first reported on it in our blog post of April last year, which included some history of the site, as well as its natural history.

Projects undertaken during 2014 included the erection of a number of bird- and bat-boxes in the trees, and the creation of a 'bug hotel' and a wood pile to create additional habitats.  Some trees were pruned and dead ones removed to increase the light reaching the woodland floor.  A mown path was maintained through the site, and an information board was installed.  WSRA is grateful to the Follies (Woodbury Music Hall) for two grants that were awarded, in 2014 and again this year, to support wildlife projects here.

Bug hotel above, and
wood-pile below.

If you would like to be involved in this on-going scheme, please contact one of us or any member of the WSRA committee. 

Parkhayes habitat management

Parkhayes Plantation in February,
before clearance and new planting on the bank began.

Last autumn, the Residents Association was fortunate to receive funding from the Parish Council for a sub-group of interested individuals to discuss the management of this site with ecologist Ben Wyatt, of Devon Wildlife Consultants.  The group wanted to understand its possibilities and limitations, and to explore the scope for enhancing its biodiversity.  

The Plantation consists mostly of mature broad-leaved trees, bordered by a long grassy bank beside the main path.  One aspect that was discussed was the potential for encouraging more wild-flowers.  Another was the planting of an understorey or shrub layer, which could create a more varied habitat for insects and plants, and foraging and nesting places for birds.

Historically, the site was used for waste of all kinds and, as a consequence, the soil is very nutrient-rich.  Unfortunately, this has created ideal conditions for much of the area to be taken over by cow parsley, perennial rye grass and nettles.  Many wild-flowers actually prefer poorer conditions, and in such fertile soil they struggle to compete with these dominant species.   WSRA would like to encourage a greater variety of wild-flowers here, but creating the right conditions for them to thrive would involve a lot of dedicated work over a long period.  

Native spring bulbs

The group decided to focus initially on planting native spring bulbs, at the end of the Plantation close to Lower Road.  There has already been a good showing of snowdrops - very small, as yet -around the base of a tree there.  They are one one of the first flowers of the year, and - with a slight honey scent - they are very attractive to bees, being their earliest food source.  Snowdrops are possibly not native to Britain, but they have been growing wild - especially in the south and west - for at least 250 years.

Native snowdrops at Parkhayes
Plantation, Galanthus nivalis

Wild daffodils used to occur widely throughout Britain, and common names include Lent Lily and Easter Lily.  They went into a mysterious decline in the mid-nineteenth century, but Devon remained one of the few areas where they continued to flourish - although colonies are very scattered,  perhaps because of changing climate or land management practices.  Locally, they were once much more common than they are now - some of the oral histories collected in the village about twenty years ago (by Sally Elliott and others), make particular mention of places where they grew.   

WSRA is very glad to be able to reintroduce wild daffodils into Parkhayes, and they are now emerging among the established cultivated varieties.  They are notable for being smaller, prettier and more graceful than these.

Native daffodil Narcissus
pseudonarcissus 'lobularis'
[image courtesy of 
http://www.wildflowershop.co.uk/
where the bulbs were sourced]

Native bluebells have also been planted, but the leaves have yet to appear.  Like wild daffodils, these too are less common than they once were.  They often cross-fertilise with the cultivated Spanish blue-bell, which is far more vigorous.  Native bluebells are more delicate in appearance and have a curved stem, unlike the hybrids whose stem is straight.

Native bluebells
Hyacinthoides non-scripta
[image courtesy of 
http://www.wildflowershop.co.uk/]

A shrubby understorey

Several areas of rye grass and nettles have recently been cleared on the bank alongside the path, and are now planted with clumps of native shrubs which will create an understorey to increase biodiversity.  The blocks of planting include hazel, guelder rose, alder buckthorn, wild privet, common dogwood, and dog-rose.  To inhibit the re-growth of the dominant ground cover, the clearings have had a light mulch of bark chippings, which will be added to with grass clippings from neighbouring gardens. 

In addition, thirty hawthorn and blackthorn have been planted on the bank at the rear of the site.

Hazel and buddleia have been planted behind the information-board.

The tree-guards and many of the trees came from the free 'Tree Pack for wildlife' donated to WSRA by the Woodland Trust.  The shrubs were funded by a private donation and sourced locally from Perrie Hale Nursery (near Honiton) that specialises in trees and shrubs for hedgerow, forestry and amenity planting.

These images (most of which are courtesy of the Royal Horticultural Society's online plantfinder) give a foretaste of what is to come.

Hazel
The yellow of the catkins provides the first real
colour of the year in a woodland or hedge, and
they are a crucial early food source
for bees and other insects.

Guelder rose
Its white flowers are similar to lace-cap hydrangeas
and its berries and leaves provide late-summer
and autumn colour. 

Alder buckthorn
Bright red berries, ripening to black,
and good autumn colour.

Wild privet
Rarely seen in a clipped hedge,
wild privet has flowers like
miniature white  lilac, followed
by glossy black berries. 

Common dogwood
Small white flowers in flat clusters, followed by
black berries.  Good autumn colour,
and young stemsare red in winter.

Dog rose
A scrambling climber with white or pale pink flowers
in summer, followed by ovoid red fruits.

Hawthorn
A small rounded deciduous tree, with flat sprays
of cream flowers, followed by dark red berries.

Blackthorn
A small thorny deciduous tree, with small white flowers
in early spring, followed by ovoid black fruits
known familiarly as sloes.

Buddleia
Often known as butterfly- bush.  Introduced from
China in the late 19th century, this has spread
across most of Britain, and has perhaps been
the saving of butterfly populations, especially in
urban areas.  Long, honey-scented flowers from July
to October are a favourist nectar source for many
butterflies and moths.  [Image courtesy of
http://www.buddlejagarden.co.uk/]