The Bryological Section of the Yorkshire Naturalists Union stepped forth on its spring excursion on 7 May 2022 up the upper (but not highest part) valley of the Rawthey, led by Tom Blockeel,
Location
Where is Rawthey Bridge and Uldale?
This bridge is on the remote road between Sedbergh and Kirkby Stephen which passes up the valley separating the Howgills from the back of Wild Boar Fell and Bough Fell. The river Rawthey here is the boundary between VC 65 (North-west Yorkshire) and VC 69 (Westmoreland with Furness - Cumbria). We parked next to a recently repainted post saying WR - presumably for "West Riding"
From Settle, or at least hills just above Settle, on a very clear day, you can see Wild Boar Fell ( - Settle, N Yorks, being the centre of the world, or at least the centre for this blogsite)
Look up the Ribble valley beyond Ribblehead, to the right of Whernside - you can see the steep east facing slope of Wild Boar Fell - the Rawthey gathers its waters on the left (far) side of Wild Boar Fell.
Or, travel up the Settle Carlisle Line and look from the train windows: - Just beyond Garsdale station on the right is the famous "river capture" example where the River Eden (flowing to Carlisle) captures land from the River Ure (flowing to York and the Humber). To the left, to the west of Garsdale Station, is the Grisedale Beck coming from the hillside to the north west. The Grisedale Beck becomes the river Clough. From Garsdale Head station (or the Moorcock Inn nearby) follow Grizedale Beck back 3 or 4 miles, (between East Bough Feel and Swarth Fell which is actually the side of Wild Boar Fell) to c 420 m. This (SD75099420) is now a water divide and possible river capture as the streams here now go west and it is the start of the top off the River Rawthey, which flows through Sedburgh The modern OS map shows a footpath: "The Pennine Journey"
The path we walked on arriving (3km NW of this point) is part of the "Pennine Journey" footpath - which is based on the walk by Arthur Wainwright in 1938,
This footpath starts from Settle, going past Lord's Wood to Feizor then on to Clapham, Ingleton, Sedburgh, Garsdale, Hadrian's Wall, then back again via Hexham, High Force, Foxup, Horton-in-Ribblesdale, then down How Beck to Stainforth - see my lichens post). So I have walked and found lichens on the first part and last part and now middle part of the footpath- "A Pennine Journey".
Geology
The rocks we walked across were from the Yoredale series so included limestones, sandstones and shale. And there could have been Silurian erratics from the adjacent Howgills.
People
Tom Blockeel is a national expert on Bryophytes and we are so lucky to have him organise the twice yearly YNU trips. He was pleased to have such a good turnout:-
Gordon Haycock of Wharfedale Naturalists - whose survey of the Bryophytes of Wharfdale is progressing well
Steve Heathcote, from near Goole, had travelled over 100miles, the width of North Yorkshire, to get here
Phil from the North West Naturalists Union "Bryophytes and Lichens Section".
Les and Sue Knight from Swaledale - Sue organised the routes for the BBS field week in Swaledale a few years ago. Les is busy compiling Lichen records for VC 65 - Swaledale. Our walk today would add a few more.
Tamsin, Christine and Royanne - from the Mosses Group of Craven Conservation Group (based at Settle)
and myself.. struggling along at the back of the group as we route marched in over the moorland path, two miles to our starting point. Next time I must leave my BBS "Mosses and Liverworts of Britain and Ireland Field Guide" at home to make the bag lighter! It weighs 3 1b 4 oz or 1.5 kg
In comparison:
imperial units:
(Stace 1 (higher plants) weighs 3lb 1 oz and Dobson (Lichens) edn 7 weighs 1 lb 15 oz. The older Dobson edn. 5, with thicker, better quality paper weighs 2 lb 3.5 oz )
Metric units:
(Stace 1 (higher plants) weighs 1.4kg and Dobson Dobson edn. 7 weighs 0.88kg The older Dobson edn. 5, with thicker, better quality paper, but fewer pages weighs 1kg )
Here are some of our finds
Hermatocaulis vernicosus the Varnished Hook-moss
Christine stopped Gordon on the moorland path to look at this.. and later dragged Tom back to see it. It might be Hermatocaulis vernicosus. This is a protected species (it was given
special protection by addition to Schedule 8 of
the Wildlife and Countryside Act; in
1995, it was listed as a priority species in the UK
Biodiversity Action Plan See details
I was pleased to spot this. I have found this in ledges in limestone clifflets beside the stream with Martha Newton in Penyghent Gill
And the much more common Brachythecium rivulare
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Brachythecium rivulare
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| Health and Safety talk at the start. |
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| Group photo: The path turns north. Behind us on the left - the Howgills. |
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| Looking for the liversort Tritomaria quinquedentata |
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| Tritomaria quinquedentata |
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| A fascinating bank beside the river. Looking at Anoectangium aestivum, Conocephalum salebrosum, Dichodontium flavescens, Amblestegium mougetii and much more. |
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| Dichodontium flavescens (formerly pellucidum) |
Dicranum pellucidum -flavescens - Yellowish Fork-Moss.
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Wood Sorrel
and what's the moss, please?
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| Rhizomnium punctatum |
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| Amblestegium mougetii this makes big soft cushions |
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| Anoectangium aestivum |
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| Conocephalum salebrosum Scalewort |
We stopped on the moorland for lunch a little way above the river
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| Sphagnum girgensohni |
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Sphagnum girgensohni
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Further upstream the Yorkshire side of the river formed more of a ravine and we scrambled up the very steep slope to the moist cliff.
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| Hookeria lucens Shining Hookeria |
Hookeria lucens Shining Hookeria
I had thought of this as an old woodland indicator.. but see from the book that it often grows with opposite-leaved golden saxifrage , which is indeed where it was growing, if high up, on a cliffside where the ground was flushed with water.
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| Bartramia halleriana |
(We found the less rare Bartramia pomiformis too.
On the moorland path on the way back:-
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| On the way back along the moorland path - Another Hook-moss |
Here are a few lichen pictures
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Graphis elegans (And Lecanora "chalrotera sens lat" on the right)
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| Dibaeis baeomyces |
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Dibaeis baeomyces
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Dibaeis baeomyces
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The thallus of this lichen was very pale grey. I had wondered if the bits of black "cilia" on the surface might make it interesting. However the BLS Zoom discussion group that met later that week suggested it is just Hypotrachyna revoluta - The tips of the thallus lobes top left are downturned. It has forked rhizines right to the edge of the underside of the thallus. The "bits of black cilia" are probably just bits of damaged rhizines somehow deposited on the surface, perhaps from a lobe of thallus which once covered it. |
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| Flavoparmelia caperata on a healthy birch overleaning the ravine |
We had aimed to reach a waterfall marked on the map. However, time beat us and we did not reach Uldale Force by about a few hundred meters. We had gotten side tracked by so many wonderful mossy ledges.
Maybe an excuse to go back another day!
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