Julia Cooper stepped in at short notice to lead 7 members on a circular walk starting from the Bull at Arborfield Cross on the morning of Wednesday 16 July. The route turned right out of the car park along Swallowfield Road, then right again along a track. It was a good morning for seeing butterflies and species noted here included Red Admiral, Speckled Wood, Comma on a Greater Burdock flower-head, Gatekeeper and Green-veined White. Turning left, there followed a short stretch along Reading Road before turning right along Church Lane. A pond on the right side of the lane had Branched Bur-reed, Gypsywort and Water Mint, while another small pond in a front garden had Flowering Rush and a Banded Demoiselle. There followed a brief investigation of the churchyard, where Common Bird\u2019s-foot trefoil, Common Knapweed, Hart\u2019s-tongue Fern and Black Bryony were amongst the sightings. The group then turned left out of the churchyard onto Church Lane and almost immediately left again along a network of tracks which led through farmland. A small flock of Chaffinches got up from the track ahead and there was a discussion about the identity of a leafless dead tree in the hedgerow \u2013 Ash or Oak? Oak was the majority verdict. White Campion flowers were seen here and Elderberries were already turning black. The track ran past a very big and presumably old Field Maple. It was multi stemmed, with eight thick stems at its base. Had it been coppiced, or had a bundle of young tree
seedlings been planted originally? Further debate ensued. Flowering Himalayan Balsam was spotted in a ditch to the right of the track. Nearby, flowering Bittersweet was scrambling through the hedge and spikes of Lords-and-ladies already had heads of ripe orange berries. The track crossed a ford, where Meadowsweet and Branched Bur-reed were amongst the sightings in the taller vegetation at the side of the track. A right turn then led to Gravelpit Hill at the north-east side of the Coombes. A footpath near Bearwood Lakes Golf Course had Stone Parsley and Fragrant Agrimony. Heather and Bell Heather were in flower here. A blue butterfly on the heather was initially identified as a Common Blue, but when it perched with its wings together, the underside of the wings, with small black dots on a pale blue background, showed that it was a Holly Blue, and the wide black margin of the fore-wing indicated that it was a female. The footpath led to an open sandy area where the ground vegetation was withered and straw-coloured, following the weeks of drought and high temperatures. Despite the conditions, Common Stork\u2019s-bill was still managing to flower. The next track led past Ellis\u2019s Hill Farm and back towards Arborfield Cross. It crossed a ford where several dogs were enjoying the water. Water Chickweed, Brooklime and Water Figwort were found on the stream bank. There followed a long gentle climb back to the Bull, where most of the group stayed for lunch.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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