On Saturday 4 August, another hot and cloudless day, a party of fifteen walkers met in the lay-by to the west of Nettlebed on the A4130 for a walk led by Jan and Jerry Welsh. A shady start through the woods on the old road soon gave way to an arable landscape bounded by a species-rich hedge with Clematis, Wayfaring-tree and a mysterious shrub with four-sided stems, eventually disclosed to the party by the leaders as Spindle. This section of the walk was herb-rich, with Wild Basil, Red Bartsia, Field Scabious, St. John’s-worts, Bladder and White Campion, Common and Greater Knapweed, Common Toadflax and Wild Teasel, with the arable margin having some cut-back Chicory in flower, Sun Spurge, Small Toadflax and Dwarf Mallow.
The route turned north beyond Harcourt Hill then east towards Ewelme Park. Above the path on the return section of the walk, a chalk exposure had Fairy Flax, Wild Thyme and Wild Candytuft, its finding put down by one of the party to the society’s GPS, but by the leaders to their observational skills. On the fence margin was a magnificent display of Weld two metres high.
Continuing past a field of cultivated legumes, the highlight of the walk, a single Clouded Yellow butterfly, added to the list of Common Blue, Meadow Brown, Small Skipper, Speckled Wood, Holly Blue, Gatekeeper, Red Admiral and whites seen previously.
Small Nettle was seen by buildings around Ewelme Park and, while cooling off after the climb, a flock of Swallows added to pleasure of the walk. Two members of the party rested in the shade to be picked up later, the remainder of the group made their way due south back to the lay-by via a wood with Nettle-leaved Bellflower and Enchanter’s Nightshade, some moving on to the leader’s house for a welcome drink.
Report by Jerry Welsh
Pictures by Rob Stallard
Plant list compiled by Renée Grayer:
| English name | Scientific name |
| Welted Thistle | Carduus crispus |
| Wild Chicory | Cichorium intybus |
| Red Bartsia | Odontites vernus |
| Meadow Crane’s-bill | Geranium pratense |
| Dog’s Mercury | Mercurialis annua |
| Bladder Campion | Silene vulgaris |
| Wild Basil | Clinopodium vulgare |
| Guelder-rose | Viburnum opulus |
| Wayfairing-tree | Viburnum lantana |
| Perforate St John’s-wort | Hypericum perforatum |
| Field Scabious | Knautia arvensis |
| Burnet-saxifrage | Pimpinella saxifraga |
| Teasel | Dipsacus fullonum |
| Dove’s-foot Crane’s-bill | Geranium molle |
| Spear Thistle | Cirsium vulgare |
| Common Knapweed | Centaurea nigra |
| Blue Fleabane | Erigeron acer |
| Lady’s Bedstraw | Galium verum |
| Meadow Vetchling | Lathyrus pratensis |
| Greater Knapweed | Centaurea scabiosa |
| Spindle | Euonymus europaeus |
| Wild Mignonette | Reseda lutea |
| Small Toadflax | Chaenorhinum minus |
| Great Mullein | Verbascum thapsus |
| Wild Parsnip | Pastinaca sativa |
| Hairy St John’s-wort | Hypericum hirsutum |
| Creeping Cinquefoil | Potentilla reptans |
| Sun Spurge | Euphorbia helioscopia |
| Traveller’s-joy | Clematis vitalba |
| Perennial Sow-thistle | Sonchus arvensis |
| Wild Carrot | Daucus carota |
| Common Toadflax | Linaria vulgaris |
| Dwarf Mallow | Malva neglecta |
| Common Bird’s-foot-trefoil | Lotus corniculatus |
| Common Amaranth | Amaranthus retroflexus |
| Agrimony | Agrimonia eupatoria |
| Hairy Violet | Viola hirta |
| Common Rock-rose | Helianthemum nummularium |
| Wild Candytuft | Iberis amara |
| Common Centaury | Centaurium erythraea |
| Fairy Flax | Linum catharticum |
| Wild Thyme | Thymus polytrichus |
| Dwarf Thistle | Cirsium acaule |
| Common Restharrow | Ononis repens |
| Weld | Reseda luteola |
| Crosswort | Cruciata laevipes |
| Small Nettle | Urtica urens |
| Nettle-leaved Bellflower | Campanula trachelium |