Day 2 of YNU Weekend in Upper Teesdale 1-2 Aug 2026

 What did we find on day 2 of the Yorkshire Naturalists' Union weekend visit to Upper Teesdale on 1-2 August 2026?

I joined several people in the YNU at the village of Holwick near Middleton-in-Teesdale as part of the Teesdale weekend. You might be able to see two more people in this picture disappearing into the distance.   NY903270

The day started sunny. Remember this is the year of the drought of 2026 - but fortunately Teesdale lying north and west a it does, still had some greenness left in the vegetation.

Terry in the seat had just given us maps. He suggested a walk following this road which turned into a track for about a mile or two (past Holwick Scar on the left ) then taking a footpath down through a field and a very steep slope with scrub to a wet meadow/flush at the bottom then returning along a track. The walk turned out to be only 2.5 miles but seemed much longer as we kept stopping.

First we had a look at the wall nearby (off ) on the left.

Jill showed us some Umbilicaria cylindrica  (Fringed Rock Tripe lichen) In VC 65, indeed in all Yorkshire there are only a few records of this species, nearly all in Upper Teesdale. Its main locations are  in the Lake District and Scotland and Wales

She had been shown this on a recent visit with some BLS Members from the NE of England.

(Note in this blogpost for the first time I am making a big effort to use "English" (or American) names - gleaned from  Yahr and Stoakley's "Lichens of Britain & Ireland" and from iNaturalist.)

Umbilicaria cylindrica  (Fringed Rock Tripe lichen)

A close up of this Umbilicaria cylindrica show its black gyrose apothecia and some branched black cilia at the thallus lobe margins. 

The walls include rock from the Whin Sill which is dolerite - It has  quartz and  minerals in it. I think this rock is fairly acid.  (Certainly acid, compared to limestone)

On a cap-stone nearly by was some Polycauliona (formerly Xanthoria) candelaria sens lat. (Shrubby Sunburst Lichen). This tends to grow where birds perch leaving nitrogenous droppings. This is more abundant in eastern Britain.

We set off up the path - Stella and Ian, Jill, Janet and myself.  with the tall cliffs of Holwick Scar on the left. (The Whin Sill) . Near the summit of the path a big boulder with white lichens cried out to be looked at. 

It had the lichen Ophioparma ventosa (Alpine Bloodspot lichen) growing on it

Ophioparma ventosa has red apothecia. It has areoles (islands)  which have a lumpy warted surface.

Parsley Fern, common in the Lake District was growing by some rocks.

We came to a stile supported by two sheep (Read about the sculptor here)

It  - the stile  to take the footpath down -  was only a mile from our starting point, but seemed much further in the dry treeless exposed landscape

The field was grazed and relatively flat at first. We found a moth - the Barred Straw Gandaritis pyraliata. The forewings cover the hindwings.

The Barred Straw Gandaritis pyraliata

The Barred Straw Gandaritis pyraliata

The path then got much steeper.. This steep slope is labelled "The Bands"  on the OS map. The slope was fenced off from grazing so the Juniper scrub was able to grow and the vegetation was longer. Parts were wet heath. I would have liked to stop and explore but the path between the shrubs was  very narrow and steep , and no space for us to stop and sit. So we continued down to a flatter pasture with flushes at the bottom, found a tree to shelter from the sun on a rabbit grazed slope and had lunch.

(For reference I see we were near Hield House .. and less than 1km away from the path by the Tees where we had had lunch the previous day)

I enjoyed my fish bites and a few chips, saved from supper yesterday at Middleton-in-Teesdale Fish and Chip shop. Doubly delicious when you are hungry.

Eating a Fish-Bite overlooking the wet pasture with the foot of "The Banks" beyond.

In the flush some rushes had galls. Larvae of the insect Livia junci (formerly juncorum) cause the this

https://www.naturespot.org/species/livia-juncorum

Here are some lichens  from a boulder in the stream in that paasture/meadow, and from rocks and the gate nearby.. But I am not confident of their names

A Cladonia on rock protruding from the flush.

Hypogymnia tubulosa on the gate post

Probably Ochrolechia androgyna   - but I did not have time to test it C (bleach) to see if it would go red.

I went out of the field round to the land above the pasture - the fenced off area  called The Bands on the map that we had walked down through. Here the Juniper was growing on wet heath - but with flush species too including Tawny Sedge  - so it looked a nice mix. There was Sundew in the sphagnum, and Pyrenean Scurvey-grass I wondered if there were special species of Sphagnum but there was not time to look.

Juniper berries

Pyrenean Scurvey-grass

Photogenic bales. Our next stopping point was the bush on the far left of the picture just before the plantation.

Sawfly larvae on alder

Below is a picture of the "Black caterpillar" - an beetle larva mentioned in the video above.

Beetle larva

Coleophora moth on alder

Further on we came to a new plantation. I wish they did not plant the trees so closely.

This Rowan at the edge had was found to support various organisims on its leaves including the Rust fungus which needs Juniper as its alternate host.  See the video below

Rust 

Under-surface of Rust

There were also galls caused by  mites. 
These are  caused by the (I think) Blister Mite Eriophyes pyri. See my post during Covid Walks, of Rowan with this mite

Xanthoria calcicola  (This does not appear to have an iNaturalist name)

Xanthoria calcicola. This has a warty lumpy thallus.

I still may add a couple of videos.   Special thanks to Jill with her knowledge of galls and insects.

I had an interesting trip back through VCs 65,69,65 again and 64 - maybe one day I will do a post on that.

I am looking forward to the 2026 YNU AGM on 7 November at York and seeing friends  there again.