Helbeck Wood SSSi- Lichens, Bluebells and much more with Cumbria Lichens and Bryophytes group

Helbeck Woods SSSI is on a south facing steep limestone slope of the North Pennines, 

just north of the Stainmore Gap - rising above Brough and the A66.- and leading on to the military ranges above Warcop.  NY792157 

When travelling north on the train from Settle to Carlisle, it is the first view of the north Pennines, the first bit of the Alston block that you see before the train goes on to give good views of  High Cup Nick, of Dufton Fell, and then Cross Fell.

But to get up involves a climb. 

It is 30miles (50km) as the crow flies due north of Langcliffe and Settle where I live, and 42 miles by road - a fastish road in North Yorkshire with newly painted white lines down the centre, then suddenly a very narrow country lane once in Cumbria.

I may show a few pictures of the route, parallelling the Settle Carlisle Line at the end of this post, or later.

We parked near Helbeck Hall -  on 19 May 2022 - with permission of the Landowner - I wish I'd taken a picture of it. Their car park was very breezy and with a splendid view down the hillside and to the Upper Eden valley and Wild Boar Fell (the way I'd come). There were 8 of us in the lichens group and 4 in the mosses group. Pete Martin kept counting the lichens people so as not to lose us in the woodland. 

We walked along a track in the woodland at the base of the hillside. The trunks here are dappled with - not light from above but with white patches of  Phlyctis argena and also Pertusaria pertusa, and some Pertusa albescens and other species. Most tall trees were ash - though near the house there were some beech and we found a poplar fallen across the path.

Thelotrema lapidinum

Thelotrema lapidinum

Parmelia ernstii - here much more common then P saxatilis. P ernstii has very few pseudocyphellae (white ridges) on the thallus, is pruinose especially near the edges or the thallus and has lobules/ follicles round the edge of the thallus

This pale green crust of Phyrrospora quernea goes orange with C. and does not change colour with K (liquid at top left) 
(It has a white prothallus and is only black at the prothallus a
if there is an antagonistic reaction with an adjacent lichen. )

However when you shine a UV torch on it, this is what you see: 
The thallus is orange with UV - but with wet KOH it is green .. (Pete Martin has been following Mark Powell on Twitter about this)

The grey crust over a large area on the dryish under-hang of this tree is Cliostomum griffithii (It has no dot in my own square SD 86, of the distribution map so I must look out for it) 

Cliostomum griffithii

Cliostomum griffithii - closer up

From Dobson: Mainly without apothecia but then easily recognised by the numerous small black dust-like pycnidia about 0.2 mm diam. apothecia 0.2 to 0.6 mm diameter flesh coloured to light brown often piebald, with a slightly lighter margin, becoming darker with age, frequently pruinose, often convex and distorted. K yellow. 

We started ascending the hill on a footpath (or was this just the track left by Pete on his reccy two days earlier?)

Bluebells

Lunch amongst the bluebells

A Cladonia with a lichenicolus fungus

We climbed higher. 

It got hotter. 

But I did not take my jacket off because of tick risk - and anyway it would have made my rucksac heavier.

It was limestone pavement/ limestone boulders with potential holes between covered by vegetation 

I got slower.. 

Three and half points of contact:  Two booted feet, one stick, and if the ground was steep, a hand on adjacent rocks - or the very base of ash saplings - no higher because most were dead with ash die-back and would snap between two fingers.

Then we reached the promised holy grail .. An Ash tree with Lobaria pulmonaria that Pete had found on the previous Tuesday.

There was some  Peltigera horizontalis just below it.

A little higher and  a view to The Folly further over in the wood.
with a view of Wild Boar Fell beyond

This area must have had more grazing in the past to have had open spaces - which then became filled  with Ash saplings. 

Higher up again there is more open grassland... and more bluebells.

Lecanactis abietina

Pete nobly descended with Chris M and I (though Chris M shot off) and we left the other four to explore the bouldery scree. I wonder what they found.