Bluebells en route for Sizergh The drumming of a woodpecker resounds through the trees by Helsington Church. Remembering their habit of strutting their stuff atop telegraph poles I spy him in the distance and the light is so good my image catches the red patch on his hind crown. He runs to and fro atop the horizontal pole, then a burst of resonant drumming to proclaim territory and display.
With two weeks of April showers and bright sun the first bluebells appear, the sap rising . Soon the woods will be awash with bluebells. Today, I choose a detailed study amidst mosses of the woodland floor.
With two weeks of April showers and bright sun the first bluebells appear, the sap rising . Soon the woods will be awash with bluebells. Today, I choose a detailed study amidst mosses of the woodland floor.
Celandines and violets flourish and as we approach the lake at Sizergh there are willow catkins and the crown of a tall willow is warm tinted. Sunlight pours through last summer's bullrush that burst open, their pale seeds illuminated. We look for frogspawn which we found here last spring but find no trace.
I like the walk from Helsington Church, overlooking Morecambe Bay, through woodland and pastures. Sizergh gardens are beautifully planted and peaceful. The castle itself dates back to the 14th century and its an imposing building. The Lyth Valley would have been mosses and wetland, a source of peat for fuel. So the view from Helsington Church would have been very different.
This week's In Our Time with Melvyn Bragg looked at the battle of Crecy and the invasion force assembled by King Edward III, including ships from many ports in England. English victory was attributed to Edward's organisation, ships full of arrows to maintain supplies and the discipline of his archers. The yew trees of Sizergh would have been important for making bows and at the battle of Agincourt Sir Thomas Strickland took 25 long -bow men with him. Edward III would have called upon his knights to raise troops for Crecy in a similar way.
This week's In Our Time with Melvyn Bragg looked at the battle of Crecy and the invasion force assembled by King Edward III, including ships from many ports in England. English victory was attributed to Edward's organisation, ships full of arrows to maintain supplies and the discipline of his archers. The yew trees of Sizergh would have been important for making bows and at the battle of Agincourt Sir Thomas Strickland took 25 long -bow men with him. Edward III would have called upon his knights to raise troops for Crecy in a similar way.
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