A Walk Across Mynydd Cilan

Posted by Dave Lamacraft, Plantlife Cymru Lower Plants Officer

Mynydd Cilan on the Lleyn peninsula is a fantastic place for walking with stunning views across Cardigan Bay and the Irish Sea, taking in Bardsey Island, the St. David's peninsula, Cadair Idris, Snowdon and the Lleyn. Unfortunately these views weren't much in evidence when I met ITV Cymru Wales' Coast & Country crew to film for the series recently.

Ifan the director had hatched a plan for presenter Ruth and I to walk some of the coastal path and explore some of the wildlife - the birds, wild flowers and lichens that make Mynydd Cilan so special - along with some of the local mining history. The weather most definitely was not on our side, with a strong wind coming off the Irish Sea to add to the thick mist and persistent drizzle.

The beauty of being on a peninsula in the Irish Sea is that although you do cop some weather, it often changes fairly rapidly, and we were in luck. The mist started to lift and had cleared by the time we reached the trig point, revealing the sweep of Hell's Mouth and Bardsey Island sitting off the western tip of the peninsula.

First stop was one of the old manganese mines that dot the western flanks of the headland. They were most likely 'trial' mines and not worked extensively, unlike the buildings of the old lead mine nearby which suggest  a more intensive operation. The old engine house, and the name of the houses alongside - Cornish Row - hint at the use of Cornish mining expertise.

Mynydd Cilan is one of the best sites for the chough in north Wales, a bird for which Wales is really important; three quarters of the UK's population of this rare bird call it home. We were hoping to film the choughs, and other species such as peregrine, stonechat and linnet, but thanks to the gale force wind, they weren't playing ball for Mark the cameraman; we decided to focus on the plants and lichens.

The heathland of Mynydd Cilan is a special habitat, there is considerably less of it in the world than there is of tropical forest, and it is mostly found on the Atlantic coasts of Europe. Created and maintained by man's interaction with the habitat over hundreds of years it supports a range of rare plants that have evolved to flourish with grazing. Chamomile, a well-known herb, which will most likely have been here for centuries is flourishing on a natural chamomile lawn maintained by grazing sheep and ponies. The muddy edges of the adjacent pond where the ponies disturb the mud provide a home for pillwort and three-lobed water crowfoot. These plants then make more use of the ponies as their seeds hitch a lift in mud stuck to their hooves and are dispersed to other pools and track-ways on the headland.

That changeable weather changed again, and a bit for the worse, as we went to film the golden hair lichen on the cliff top. The wind was howling, making it difficult to hear ourselves, and making it near impossible for Nick the sound man (and chief waffle eater). The golden hair lichen is a rare species of coastal heath in south-western Britain which, ironically, likes 'dry, sunny, warm temperate areas' according to the books. Lichens are pretty robust things, able to survive in some of the harshest environments on the globe, this one even surviving being leant on by Nick's elbow.

It was a long day, but a good day nonetheless. A real eye-opener for me was seeing the crew going about their work with such professionalism, they did an amazing job in some pretty adverse conditions. Hopefully tonight's programme will inspire a few people to get out and look at some of the wild plants and lichens on the Welsh coast, and not worry too much about the weather!

• Dave Lamacraft will be appearing on ITV Cymru Wales on Coast & Country on Friday 6 December at 8pm. For more details visit the website here. 

LICHEN OF THE WEEK: Cladonia floerkeana

Also known as Redcoats, British Soldier and Devil's Matchstick.

This flamboyant lichen has a fondness for dead wood so rotting logs and fence posts are a good place to look for it. It also grows on well drained soils with lots of organic matter such as those found on heaths and moorland.

More information here.

Image by Ilja Knutman under Creative Commons licence.

WILD FLOWER OF THE WEEK: Old Man's Beard.

Have you noticed a road, path or lane become more hirsute recently? 

In the month of "Movember" its not just upper lips turning hairy: the fluffy seed heads of our native clematis adorn many a hedge at this time of year. John Gerard, the noted herbalist, loved this plant and gave it another common name: Traveller's-joy. Has it brightened a hedgerow near you?

For more about this plant and many others visit our website.

Nature Check: Where is Defra The Defender?

Posted by Nicola Hutchinson, Head of Conservation Programmes, England and Wales.

Wildlife and Countryside Link and its members, including Plantlife, today launched its third annual report on the Government's progress against its initial claim to be "the greenest government ever".

In previous years the score card had a distinctly "could do better" feel.  Unfortunately there have been few signs of improvement and indeed in some keys areas, such as the England biodiversity strategy, the situation needs urgent attention.

Biodiversity 2020 was launched as the Government's new wildlife strategy in 2011, yet two years on progress with taking real action is achingly slow.  Defra niftily handed responsibility for 'delivering the strategy' to Natural England and it showed in Lord de Mauley's speech at the Nature Check launch; Defra clearly sees itself at a distance from actual delivery as all the biodiversity progress mentioned was in the form of Agency action.  Yet despite the best efforts of Natural England & Co it is too often the case that the barrier to progress is down to a combination of Government departments, Government resources and Government policy.  So it begs the question what positive strides will Defra itself take in the near future to make a contribution to improving species, habitats and ecosystems?

Nature Check asks for strong leadership and this is where Defra must start.  The Government Department with environment in its title should be an environmental champion.  It should have conserving and enhancing wildlife and the environment as its core purpose. Its programmes and projects should lead by example and put increased wildlife at the heart.  It should draw red lines on environmental matters which will not be crossed (yes, even by you, Treasury).  It should not be an apology for wildlife and the environment.  It should be Defra The Defender.  Have you got what it takes?

Five "Fashionably Late" Wild Flowers

Posted by Dr Trevor Dines

There’s something extra special about flowers appearing in the autumn. It’s as if they’re challenging nature’s clock and you feel they deserve an extra cheer, putting on a final brave show before winter.

Some plants, like sea aster and western gorse, actually time their flowering for now, while others such as meadowsweet, dead-nettles and dandelions are just flagrant opportunists, getting in a quick flowering while the weather holds out. As well as providing a splash of autumn colour, they’re an essential source of nectar and pollen for bees, butterflies and other pollinators, a final feast before they tuck themselves up for the long winter hibernation.


Five late bloomers that prove they’re worth waiting for:


1. Devil’s-bit scabious

The beautiful purple pincushion-like flowers of the Devil’s-bit scabious can be found in damp meadows, heaths and old limestone grassland until October. This native wildflower gets its name from ancient times when its stunted appearance was believed to have been caused by the devil eating its roots!

More about this flower.


2. Meadowsweet 

The fluffy white flower heads of meadowsweet will often reappear after hay cut and bring an elegant touch of colour to meadows, ditches and riverbanks in autumn when its nectar is popular with butterflies, hoverflies and other insects. In the past, its sweet-smelling foliage was cut and strewn on floors to freshen the air.

More about this flower.


3. Sea aster

Aster is Greek for 'star' - certainly an apt name for this beauty, a wild flower that likes to arrive late with a burst of colour. Also known as 'Michaelmas daisies' most arrived from America. Our native aster - the sea aster - adds a splash of vibrant purple and yellow to our coasts in the autumn.

More about this flower.



4. Meadow saffron

A femme fatale of the wild flower world, as beautiful as it is deadly (meadow saffron contains the poison colchicine).  It flowers in autumn hence another name, Autumn crocus, although it’s not actually a crocus. It’s also known as Naked ladies as the flowers appear after its leaves have died away.

More about this flower.



5. Western gorse 

And this plant will certainly add a splash of colour to autumn, and a lot more! Legend has is that when gorse is out of bloom, kissing is out of fashion! Thankfully for all you romantics out there western gorse flowers from July-December and common gorse from December to June, so you can kiss your loved one all year round!

More about this flower.

So instead of the gold, orange and reds that often steal the limelight as trees put on magnificent displays, why not think pinks, purples, and even white? Celebrate the remarkable array of native wildflowers that bloom well into the autumn or even early winter.