HABITAT LOSS : In Memory of Bofarnel.

 What's wrong with this? You may well ask. At a glance it looks like a small meadow, which has been recently cropped for hay.

If you look closer, it was reseeded probably last year with an agricultural grass mix of Ryegrass and Timothy, giving no doubt, plenty of bulk but no variety.

I was alerted to the wildlife value of this meadow  over thirty years ago. I was given a letter sent to the County Wildlife Trust, and it was passed to me to have a look at the meadow.

The letter was from a pair of elderly sisters who had lived near the two meadows in question all their lives, were aware of their rather special wildlife interest and were concerned that they would be 'improved'.

In response, I first went there in 1988 and found a semi-improved meadow running down to a wet marshy bottom with a thick scrub and a line of old oaks alongside a stream running down to the River Fowey.

There was a wide border thick with Meadowsweet, Angelica, Water Mint, Valerian, Marsh Thistle, and, most especially the beetroot-red flowers of abundant Greater Salad Burnet,    (Sanguisorba officinalis.)Great numbers of small moths erupted from the vegetation as it was disturbed, and Meadow Browns, Ringlets and Gatekeepers flew around everywhere. Several Silverwashed Fritillaries  flew from bramble flowers to the foliage of the trees along the stream.

Sanguisorba officinalis, a rare plant in Cornwall. It favours a basic soil. Here it is growing in wet clay which is derived from the breakdown of Devonian silty shales which occur in this part of Cornwall.

 

The second meadow, downstream, was even wetter. In my 1988 visit I found extensive marsh and sphagnum bog which was being invaded by birch  and willow scrub. The even wetter conditions were home to bog plants such as Bog Asphodel and Cottongrass, shown below.Flea Sedge, Sphagnum moss and Sundew were also growing.

Bog Asphodel (Narthecium ossifragum)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                                                                                     Cottongrass ( Eriophorum angustiflium)

And the most interesting find in this meadow was Black Bog Rush,  also rare in Cornwall and also to be found on basic soil.The small bushy Bog Myrtle another lover of basic conditions was also growing.

Black Bog Rush (Schoenus nigricans.)

Immediately aware of the specialness of these meadows, I sent a list of the plants seen, with comments to the County Wildlife Trust, feeling that someone with more experience than me should take a look. Over the years however, there seemed to be little interest shown by the Trust.

My notes indicate I visited the meadows on several subsequent occasions. They refer to a visit in 1992 when I noted the meadow hadn't been cut for a couple of years and then in  May 1996 the meadow had been ploughed and re-seeded the previous year and in' 96 it had been cut for silage. although the eastern, boggy meadow was still scrubbing up. The wet-loving plants, including some Sanguisorba were now restricted to a narrow margin at the bottom alongside the wooded streamside.

Following my visit in 1996 I wrote to the then Trust director lamenting the loss and his response was I felt, rather negative, as he thought that the interest shown in the wildlife value had in fact triggered the farmer's action and he had refused the Trust's offer to purchase. The Trust had  the previous eight years in which to conduct an informative and constructive conversation with the farmer which may have in fact made him more sympathetic and I still feel that apathy or complacency on the part of the Trust had  caused the loss of this special and for Cornwall, a very unusual habitat.

This week  (July 2021) we re-visited the meadows. A hay crop had just been taken off the meadow, with a vestige of the previous marsh plants along the lower margin. Still, miraculously, a few Sanguisorba plants were hanging on. The lower ground was still very damp despite the current spell of hot dry weather.

The further, boggy meadow was changed beyond recognition. It must have has extensive and effective drainage as hay had been taken off this improved grassland  too, with neither scrub  remaining nor even traces of marsh vegetation, even in the stream side margin.

As a rider to this sad story, the hill beyond the meadows, once an open heath, has been partially taken in to both plantations of pines on some areas and arable cultivation in other parts, with this year, Miscanthus and maize crops. The remaining heath is being encroached by a scrub of gorse, birch, willow, bramble and pine saplings.- as pictured below.

The degenerating remaining heath on Bofarnel Down.

Small areas of land such as these which may seem insignificant, are quietly disappearing and their loss to wildlife is arguably of far greater importance and may well outweigh the cost of improvement and gain of small areas of more productive land to the landowner.

Rivers of Cornwall 2 : The Fowey in Summer

The Fowey, like the River Lyhner, rises on Bodmin Moor and flows south for about 30 miles to the sea past the twin towns of Polruan and Fowey on opposite sides of the Fowey estuary. Because of the unsettled weather during our travels down the river, we could only look at short sections at a time, dodging the worst of the rain.

                                                         Catchment of the River Fowey

The river (pronounced Foy as in boy) rises in the north eastern side of the moor and runs through a surrounding bowl of  the rounded hills of High Moor and Buttern Hill, past Cornwall’s highest point, the granite tor of Brown Willy.

 

 

The Fowey rises in this rather featureless area of moorland between the familiar profile of Brown Willy, the highest point in Cornwall, at  about 450m above sea level.

The photo of Brown Willy was taken from the top of Buttern Hill, to the East. This is one of the best-preserved kists in Cornwall. It is a Bronze Age burial chamber, big enough to take a crouched burial.

 

Several streams join the Fowey high up on the moor, rising from marshes like this.

 

The marshes in summer are colourful with Common Valerian, Marsh Thistle, Foxgloves, Angelica.

 

The stunted hawthorns on the moor are often draped with beards of lichen.

 

 

 

 Not much more than freshets, the streams of the upper reaches run through marshes and thickets of willow.

 

 

 

 The  young river then flows below Leskernick Hill with its big cairn and on its western and southern slopes the well –preserved remains of over fifty Bronze Age round houses within two discrete settlements. The rounded open moorland hills of Codda , Tolborough and Blackhill Downs.surround the shallow valley

One of the many round houses at the settlement of Leskernick.

Troops of Foxgloves stand tall on the banks.

 

 until the river flows under the main A30 trunk road and runs quite steeply down the eastern side of the moor.

The hamlet of Bolventor with its famous pub is nearby . The Jamaica Inn featured in Daphne du Maurier's novel of that name; a tale of smuggling and wrecking.

The horizons of the moor are often marked by tracts of coniferous plantations. They detract from the wide open character of the moor, but when re-growth follows in large clear-felled areas, we can see and hear Nightjars calling and hunting at twilight.

The river flows through marshy meadows and willow woodland. Summer vegetation is luxuriant with Hemlock Water Dropwort. Its roots are highly poisonous to livestock but they are normally not eaten unless the growth is opened up by floods.

The river is narrow but clean and fast flowing, subject to sudden rises in level after rain on the moor. Green tresses of waterweed sway in the current and dippers nest under some of the bridges.

The handsome bridge at Ninestones, partway down this section of the river gives access to one of several small moorland farms nestled among sheltering trees.

Moorland farmhouse, looking cozy now, but  remote, cold and enveloped in clammy mists in winter.

The opposite hillside of Browngelly has the extensive remains of ancient and medieval settlements partly buried under gorse and bracken.

Coming off the moor, the river runs through wet mossy woodland.

 The beam bridge at Draynes was built in 1878 to replace a ford. A car park here gives access for the many visitors to the well-loved  ancient oakwoods of the Draynes Valley with its attractive Golitha Falls.

The river runs alongside a fine row of beech trees which must have been planted getting on for a couple of hundred years ago.Forty years ago there were Pied Flycatchers nesting in the old oaks  in the woodland here but they haven't been seen for many years now.

 

The lifting of lockdown restrictions has made a big rise in traffic and the car park by the river at Draynes was very busy with people coming and going from walks in the woods to the falls at Golitha.

 

Golitha Falls.

 The defile where the river runs between great boulders is a well known site for mosses and lichens, and contributes to the area's status as an SSSI and National Nature Reserve. Years ago when Kim was a student we picked her up after an afternoon’s drawing down at the Falls. We found a drowned rat! She had fallen into a deep pool below, still clutching her drawings. Luckily no harm done except to her dignity. 

 

 On the moorland before the Fowey runs down the hillside is an ancient inscribed stone believed to commemorate King Doniert, the last of the Cornish kings, said to have drowned in the Fowey in  around 875AD. 

The river then turns south and plunges down the southern edge of the moor. The lanes here are deep and sunken, within lush mossy woodlands.

At Treverbyn the old medieval bridge on the right is no longer used. It is listed because it still retains some of the original 14th century structure. It is replaced by the newer bridge on the left of the picture. The river was looking very beery after all the recent rain.

The next bridge is Ashford , before the river turns west.
 This bridge is listed and was built in about 1850 to replace an earlier one. It's construction is the same as the Draynes bridge.We set the moth trap here a few nights ago. We had a good catch and also huge numbers of various sorts of Caddis Flies were attracted to the light.

The Glynn Valley  is shared between  the river, the busy A38 trunk road, the main railway line from Paddington to Penzance and extensive coniferous plantations. The handsome Glynn House , most recently rebuilt in  the mid 1800s  has given its name to this stretch of the valley. There has been a dwelling at Glynn since before the Norman Conquest, with successive houses built on the site.

Trago Mills, the first of a chain of retail outlets first developed in 1960 on the site of the original gunpowder mill which blew up in the latter part of the 1800s.  It started in a small shed  where the  owner sold various lots of bankrupt stock which he had bought cheap. Now notorious for its quirky architecture and the often tumultuous relations between the owner and council authorities, it is nevertheless a popular venue.

Further along the valley the river passes Cabilla and Redrice Reserves belonging to the Cornwall Wildlife Trust. A large area of mixed woodland, this is home to the rare Blue Ground Beetle and is also a good site for butterflies and moths. Purple Hairstreaks and Silver-washed Fritillaries  can be seen along the tracks..

Purple Hairstreak. These butterflies usually stay in the tree tops, but can sometimes be seen basking on leaves lower down. We have watched displaying pairs in persistent spiraling flight high up above the trees.

 

 

 

         
      Silver-washed Fritillary butterfly.

Several adits in this vicinity  open from old tin and copper mines and are winter hibernation sites for bats. Tony has done counts of them for over twenty years. One goes under the A38 from near the river. When he was little, grandson no.1 went too and Tony said 'he disappeared up there like a rat in a drainpipe'.This adit interestingly also regularly has signs of otter lying up in it.

Now the river runs south again, under Respryn Bridge, another listed, originally medieval bridge.
 

Some years ago the bridge was hit and extensively damaged by a lorry and subsequent repairs incorporated width restrictions.

The capstones of many of the local medieval bridges have been 'stapled' together.

 

 

 

The railway runs alongside the river in the widening valley. They pass the National Trust property of Lanhydrock House. Originally the property of the Robartes family, who were Parliamentarians in the Civil War and opposed to the Royalist family at Boconnoc on the opposite bank. The estate has many fine trees, many of which are veteran. An avenue of Sycamores was planted in 1648 and some still survive.

 

 Less than a mile north of Lostwithiel is the National Trust Restormel Castle. It was built in the 13th Century but having at one time been held by the Parliamentarians in the Civil War, fell into disrepair in the 16 hundreds. It was CLOSED when we wanted to visit! Lockdown? or just the wrong day?

This is an English Heritage aerial view.

The next substantial settlement is the old town of Lostwithiel  which was the capital of Cornwall in the 13th Century. It still retains some historical features. 

It was a Stannary town. A Stannary was an area of tin mining and the five Cornish Stannary towns  are Lostwithiel, Bodmin, Truro, Helston and Liskeard . This is where twice a year all tin and copper were brought in for assaying and stamping, and the coinage was made under strict rules and supervision. The  Cornish tinners were very powerful and their Stannery Law overruled the Common Law  until 1838.

The Coinage Hall in Lostwithiel still stands in the town centre.

The main road with its modern bridge replaces the wide seven span medieval bridge pictured below.(the seventh span is hidden by foliage on the right.)

 

The narrow old bridge at Lostwithiel.

 

 

Intriguing glimpses.

 

 

The handsome spire of the parish church of St. Bartholomew. The original church was built in the 13th Century with most  of the structure and the spire, added in the 14th Century. The font has very fine 14th century carving. The church was extensively restored in the 1870s.

On the upper side of Lostwithiel the river alternated between deep pools and shining riffles. A moorhen flew downstream and landed with a splash in the water below the overhanging foliage.

A clump of very floriferous brambles was attracting Meadow Browns, a Red Admiral and a Comma butterfly.

Comma Butterfly.

The brambles were on the edge of the town's Millennium Park, a pleasant area with rough grassland, various planted trees and numerous seats.

 

Immediately downstream of the town which is the furthest navigable place on the Fowey, the river is canalized for some distance with a pleasant walking track alongside.The town's fortunes declined with those of tin, and the river silted up with silt from the mines so that bigger ships could no longer come up to the quay.

 As we follow the valley, the lanes are full of flower at this time of the year. The pastoral countryside is very attractive.

This is a clump of purple Tufted Vetch.

 A froth of white Hedge Bedstraw makes the warm air smell like new hay.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We next tried to get to the river at St Winnow. This is a pleasant little riverside hamlet with a little church well worth looking at. Usually very quiet, this time it was choked with holidaymakers - 'staycationers' in the current jargon. We couldn't park, so made our way further down and managed to find a secluded creek for our lunch.

The river has now widened to become an estuary. This is looking upstream at half tide. St Winnow can just be discerned in the distance. The lovely village of Golant is a few hundred yards downstream on the opposite bank. About forty years ago we admired a pink rose growing up the pub wall in Golant. I asked the landlady if she knew its name. It was Madame Gregoire Staechelin and I was able to buy one from a specialist rose grower. She still makes a brief but lovely display of blooms up our back wall. I have just found out her alternative name is Spanish Beauty.

 

 

Short creeks with brackish water run into the estuary. First, the River Ethy runs into a creek at Lerryn. This one is Pont Pill with an old derelict mill alongside the bridge.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 On the west bank of the estuary is a china clay terminal where china clay from extensive clay pits inland, is run down a pipe  before loading onto cargo ships. Back in the seventies there were several cargo ships laid up in the estuary near here.

 

 

 

 

The Estuary's lowest crossing, a car ferry at Bodinnick was avoided on this visit. Always busy, we envisaged this summer the narrow lane to the ferry would be clogged and the queue to cross interminable

 

The ferry crossing to Fowey. The Ferry Inn at the bottom dates from  the 16 hundreds.

 

 

The estuary reaches the sea flanked by the towns of Fowey on the far, west, bank, and Polruan this side. The two towns are connected here by a passenger ferry. Parking is up above the narrow streets.

Journey's End! The river joins the Channel.

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