What to see

Flora

Our naturalist, Jenny Atkinson, identifies some of the plants and insects you can see on the trail at various times of the year. For more information (at Wikipedia), click on the label of each plant or insect.

Agrimony (Agrimonia eupatoria)
Arum Lily (Arum maculatum)
Bee Orchid (Ophrys apifera)
Bee Orchid (Ophrys apifera)
Bulrush (Typha latifolia)
Perforate St John’s-wort (Hypericum perforatum)
Common Horsetail (Equisetum arvense)
Creeping Cinquefoil (Potentilla reptans)
English Oak (Quercus robur)
Field Bindweed (Convolvulus arvensis)
Great Willowherb (Epilobium hirsutum)
Guelder Rose (Viburnum opulus)
Guelder Rose flower (Viburnum opulus)
Hemp Agrimony (Eupatorium cannabinum)
Hemp Agrimony (Eupatorium cannabinum)
Male Fern (Dryopteris filix-mas)
Meadowsweet (Filipendula ulmaria)
Old Man’s Beard (Clematis vitalba)
Old Man’s Beard seedhead (Clematis vitalba)
Purple Loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria)
Small Balsam (Impatiens parviflora)
Wayfaring Tree (Viburnum lantana)
Woolly Thistle (Cirsium eriophorum)

Aconite (Eranthis hyemalis)
Common Hogweed (Heracleum sphondylium)
Common Spotted Orchid (Dactylorhiza fuchsii)
Greater Knapweed (Centaurea scabiosa)
Hedge Woundwort (Stachys sylvatica)
Marsh Thistle (Cirsium palustre)
Marsh lousewort (Pedicularis palustris)
Selfheal (Prunella vulgaris)
Water Forget-me-not (Myosotis scorpioides)
Meadow Vetchling (Lathyrus pratensis)
Water Figwort (Scrophularia auriculata)
Hart’s Tongue Fern (Asplenium scolopendrium)
Fleabane (Pulicaria dysenterica)
Goatsbeard (Tragoponon pratensis)
Hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna)
Oxeye Daisy (Leucanthemum vulgare)
Oxford Ragwort (Senecio squalidus)
Pendulous Sedge (Carex pendula)
Water Mint (Mentha aquatica)
Tufted Vetch (Vicia cracca) with cinnabar moth.

Water Plantain (Alisima plantago-aquatica)
Wood Sanicle (Sanicula europaea)
Yorkshire Fog (Holcus lanatus)
Ash Tree (Fraxinus excelsior)
Black Bryony berries (Tamus communis)
Black Bryony (Tamus communis)
White Bryony (Bryonia dioica)
Brooklime (Veronica beccabunga)
Red Bartsia (Odontites vernus)
Bittersweet or Woody Nightshade (Solanum dulcamara)
Bittersweet or Woody Nightshade berries (Solanum dulcamara)

WARNING: THESE BERRIES ARE POISONOUS

Blackthorn (Prunus spinosa)
Greater Birdsfoot Trefoil (Lotus pedunculatus)
Common Comfrey (Symphytum officinale)
Germander Speedwell (Veronica chamaedrys)
Greater Stitchwort (Stellaria palustris)
Great Horsetail (Equisetum telmateia)
Herb Robert (Geranium robertianum)
Lesser Burdock (Actium minus)
Pyramidal Orchid (Anacamptis pyramidalis)
Spear Thistle (Cirsium vulgare)
Stinking Iris (Iris foetidissima)
Stinking Iris seedhead (Iris foetidissima)
Enchanter’s Nightshade (Circaea lutetiana)
Silverweed (Potentilla anserina)
Wild Angelica (Angelica vulgaris)
Cock’s-foot grass (Dactylis glomerata)

Insects

Buff-tailed Bumble Bee (Bombus terrestris)
Gatekeeper Butterfly [Pyronia tithonus]
Peacock Butterfly [Aglais io]
Cinnabar Moth caterpillar (Tyria jacobaeae) on Tufted Vetch
Red-Headed Cardinal Beetle (Pyrochroa serraticornis)
Small Skipper Butterfly (Thymelicus sylvestris)
Large Heath Butterfly [Coenonympha tullia]
Cinnabar Moth (Tyria jacobaeae) on Tufted Vetch
Meadow Brown Butterfly (Maniola jurtina)
Ringlet Butterfly [Aphantopus hyperantus
Tortoiseshell Butterfly (Aglais urticae)
Large Skipper Butterfly [Ochlodes sylvanu]
Common Blue Damsel [Enallagma cyathigerum]
Common Blue Damselfly mating [Enallagma cyathigerum]
Common Darter Dragonfly (Sympetrum striolatum) – male

Other

American Crayfish
Grey Squirrel