Walshford - Part 2 - The Speakers Club competition - and Syntrichia latifolia

Last month (See previous post) I had visited Walshford to explore the planned location of the 2014 Eastern District Speakers Club Competition at The Bridge Hotel, Walshford

The three judges are seated here in the foreground

Now the 10th of March was here, and here we are at the competition.
(Some of us were here from Craven Speakers Club, Skipton. Skipton was judged Number 1 in Britain's top 101 places  to live in Britain in Sunday Times on 16 March 2014 - must be because of our Speakers Club - just had to get that in)

The winners at this competition would go forward to the national competition of the Association of Speakers Clubs this year at Glasgow in 25-27 April

You may think this post is all about the speech competition - well it is, but you'll soon see there is a link to

1. Mosses,  Syntrichia in particular
2. Saving habitats
3. Rainforest Greeting cards.
4. 
   

I came early  .. specially to see the village of Little Ribston  1.5 miles away, and to explore and look at Ribston Hall.

Once again it was beautiful weather.

I stood beneath an alder tree and looked over the river Nidd at Ribston Hall

See the alder catkins

And see what is growing on the trunk
at the foot of the Alder tree
 (my map marks the position)

Yes - Syntrichia latifolia - Water Screw-moss

Add a little bit of water from the plant spray and the leaves open out.

Syntrichia latifolia.!!!!!!!!! Water Screw-moss

But the competition was due to start at 1.30pm. I gathered my plant spray, retraced my steps to the car and continued to the Speech Contest.

Martin Bishop, left, the president of the Eastern District presents
a special prize for the club that has done most for young people
 - two clubs shared the prize. The Eastern District comprises three Areas. 
Our area - The Yorkshre Dales Area -comprises 6 clubs now that a new club Sheffield has formed.

 There were three competitions,
with one entrant from each of the three areas in each of the competitions:

1. Three people gave speeches.
2. Three people did evaluations of a special speech given for them to evaluate
3. Three people gave impromptu speeches. ( I was one of the contestants for this)

Three speeches:
The first lady called Kay gave a speech entitled "Awakening the Dreamer".
She explained how we were sleep walking into an environmental crisis. I jotted down phrases and sentences.
She finished by saying: "When people in the future ask 'What did you do to make a difference?'  I would like to be able to say 'I made a stand'"

The second man gave a moving speech on "Love is all"

The third speaker talked on the decline (in number) in British Pubs.  (This third speech won because of the way it was delivered, within the time given)

The special speech for the evaluation was given by Lindsay Dutch who this year is President of the national Association of Speakers Clubs.

His title was "Disaster in Teneriff" - which we found referred to
 Nelson's attempts to attack the Canary Islands. -
 Including graphic descriptions of the  attempted attacks and battles.

"Vivid" was the opening word used by
 winning evaluator Chris Clissit to describe Lindsay's speech..

The topic given for the topics competition was "Climbing mountains".
I received the the Runners up prize.

Martin Bishop is the Chairman of the Eastern District. 

I had brought my photo greeting cards with me to sell in aid of the Rainforest Fund? - Was it really relevant to the AGM? .., and should I mention them? Well  taking the quote from Kay's speech-  "When people in the future ask 'What did you do to make a difference?'  I would like to be able to say 'I made a stand'" I raised my hand, quoted her quote and showed people the cards.
And later sold £9-00 of cards - every bit counts.


I wish the three winners - all from the Vale of York area- all the best when they go forward to Glasgow.

Walshford - Part 1

This is the "lady"on top of one of the gateposts

 at the entrance to Ribston Park grounds,

next to Walshford Bridge 

What is the link between
the Rainforest Fund,
Settle and
Walshford?
(Walshford is a hamlet on the River Nidd, on the A1, exactly  halfway between London and Edinburgh, 3 and a half miles from Wetherby and about 7 miles from Knaresborough and Harrogate)

The Bridge Hotel at Walshford is the location for the Eastern Region Speakers Club Competition on Sunday 9th March.

 I am taking part in the impromptu speaking section.(Because  somehow I won in the Region competition at Halifax) Do you remember I once wrote about speaking about the rainforest at Speakers Club? and about the National competition at York in 2014 The winners of these competiions will go to the National competition this year in Glasgow.

It's good to get a sense of place. So a month before the competition I went exploring.

The Nidd inside the Ribston Park grounds,
next to Walshford Bridge

I drove there .. but if I had walked...

From Settle it is about 6 miles walk to Malham Tarn.
From Highfolds, the cliff above the Tarn you can see Great Whernside (736m, 2415ft above sea level, about 14 miles to the north as the crow flies.
Great Whernside is the source of the River Nidd.
The river Nidd flows down through 3 reservoirs to Pately Bridge, then past Harrogate, through the Nidd Gorge - after which the land flattens - become FLAT in the vale of York, and the river meanders. Walshford lies about 70 miles from the source. And 16-20km further the river meets the Ouse just north of York

In more detail:

Great Whernside is not as high as Whernside - but still very high, only 62 ft lower than Ingleborough

Here are the highest peaks in the YDNP: 
Whernside ( 736m 2415 ft)
Ingleborough 723m (2372ft)
Great Shunner fell (716m 2349 ft)
High Seat, Mallerstang 709m 2326 ft)
Wild boar Fell (708m 2323 ft)
Great Whernside (704 m 2310ft)
Buckden Pike ( 702 m 2303 ft)

The water that rains of Great Whernside drains into streams which form the river Nidd.  Nidd Head Spring, 1.3KM north of the summit of Great Whernside.  A In its first few miles it is dammed three times to create Angram Reservoir, Scar House Reservoir and Gouthwaite

Ao about 70 km east t the last part very meandering, and you get to Walshford. Set on glacial and alluvial deposits with magnesian limestone underneath.

The Nidd is 94.45 kilometres (58.69 mi) long -

The river gets its name for the Celtic word for shining or brilliant.

It is 24m above sea level at Walshford and 13 m above sea level when it meets the river Ouse. It is abou 12km as the crow flies but 20km as the river meanders to the River Ouse.

I peered into the park, but there were gates and railings so I could not enter.

Ribston Park is next to and north of Walshford. this is where the Ribston Pippin apple was started - brought from Normandy in 1709. It is a precursor of Cox's Orange Pippin.

 Ribston Hall was a Knights Templar Preceptory from 1217 to 1307. Little of it remains, the chapel forming part of the hall, rebuilt in 1674.

History:

There used to be an inn called The Old Fox, a drovers' pub rather than a coaching inn and long gone, replaced by the Bridge Hotel.  The A1 was used by the Drovers driving cattle down from Scotland.

 Rev James Dalton (1764-1843) an important Botanist lived Copgrove 10 miles away  to the north, just north of Knaresborough (afterwards he moved to Catterick, then Croft) He collected plants and lichens. A lot of his material was given to the Yorkshire Philosophical Society which formed in 1823. Mark Seaward mentions him in his paper on Yorkshire Lichenologists.

I copy and paste from The history of the Herbarium of the Yorkhisre Philosophical Society 
The Rev. James Dalton, F.L.S., was the third and youngest son of Captain John Dalton, H.E.I.C.S. (the defender of Trichin- opoly, 1752-53), by Isabella, second daughter, and eventual heir of Sir John Wray, 12th Baronet of Glentworth, co. Lincoln. Born in Swinegate, York, on the 14th November, 1764 ; he took his B.A. degree at Clare Hall, Cambridge, in 1787; M.A., 1790; Ordained Deacon, 15th July, 1787 ; Priest, 23rd November, 1788 ; Vicar of Copgrove, January 22nd, 1789 ; Vicar of Catterick, March 12th, 1791 ; Rector of Croft, 3rd August, 1805. Married 4th Dec, 1794, at Bishop Stortford, Herts, Maria, youngest daughter, and co-heir, of the Rev. Edmund Gibson, Vicar of Bishop Stortford (grandson of Edmund Gibson, Bishop of London). Died 2nd January, 1843; Buried at Croft, 12th January, 1843. Now repre- sented (1894) by Lt. -Colonel J. C. Dalton, R.A., and Charles Dalton, F.R.G.S., sons of Lt. -General Charles James Dalton, Col. Commandant Royal Artillery.

So come with me on my walk ..

Here are the pictures - I'll write notes another day.

Syntrichia 

The moss in situe .. beside the old Great North Road

A ditch

Fertilizer in a barn

Wide angle view

Telephot view of same palce

New Walshford bridge - A1 Motorway

A168 - replaced the old A1 bridge

A168 - replaced the old A1 bridge

Pancake Coffee Morning raises £120 - and walk round Settle and Giggleswick

40 people came to the Coffee Morning at St John's Church, Settle. We raised £120 for the Rainforest Fund.   That includes £25 worth of cards. Thanks to all who came, and thanks to the regulars for serving the coffee.

Can you see the mountain gorilla? It makes "mountain gorilla" noises when you shake its hand

And here are the pancakes and cakes.

Afterwards I took my two friends, visiting from Keighley and Canada to visit parts of Settle and Giggleswick.

Would you believe that this quite haven is less than 100 m from the market place?

Here is Giggleswick Church

and here is Giggleswick Chapel, part of Giggleswick School

(We have Coffee mornings every Tuesday 10-12 - and you can always buy the cards then.  why not call in next time you visit Settle?)

Mosses for Beginners at Ribblehead Churchyard - 24 May

If you've seen the advert for the "Ultra-Beginners Mosses Workshop" at St Leonard's churchyard on the afternoon or 24 May you may be wondering where it is, what you have let yourself in for, and can your cope? -

Yes of course you can cope - It will be lots of fun.

1.) Where is it?

Conocephalum (conicum) salebrosum
Great scented Liverwort / Snakewort - a thallose liverwort
at the entrance to the churchyard

Hidden in the trees, next to a dried up stream with mosses covering the river bed, a mile down from Ribblehead,  lies St Leonard's Church with its bryophyte-rich churchyard.

This is a secret, sheltered spot compared to the windswept  hills of Ingleborough and Whernside above.

And it is full of history:
Many of the workers, who built the Ribblehead viaduct (1870-1874) 140 years ago of the Settle Carlisle Railway Line and lived at the shanty town at Ribblehead 1 mile away, found their final resting place here: People who died from injuries or from diseases. It is also on the Roman road.

Over 50 species of bryophytes (mosses and liverworts) have been found here. Some on the gravestones made of different rocks. Some on the church roof: Some on the limestone walls; Some on the tree bark. Some on the grassland below the trees.

But we won't be studying all 50. We'll all be beginners so we'll concentrate on a dozen or so of the big bold bryophytes - with fun names to learn. They have English names for them now .. which makes it a lot easier.

Names like Great Scented Liverwort  (also called Snakewort.). That's the big one that grows on the ground just before you enter the lynch gate.

Let's look at it here more closely with a hand lens (I'll bring plenty so that you can borrow one, )

Can you see why it is sometimes called Snakewort?

It will be fun meeting other people.

On 24 May Judith Allinson (that's me)  and Mike Canaway will be running a "Mosses for Beginners" workshop here. this is part of the Ingleton Overground Underground Festival. from 2pm to 4pm. Places cost  £10 (children £1-00)  and this includes a cup of tea and biscuits and some handouts, and handlenses can be borrowed/bought..

The Yellow Fringe - moss
(Racomitrium aciculare)
 on the acid rock of a
benchlike tombstome.

Please book your place email Judith@wildplants.org.uk   See www.ogug.co.uk  Transport can be provided shared by meeting at Ingleton Community Centre at 1.30pm.


Here are took some pictures last August and January. - I hope I will have opportunity to take some more on a sunny day before May 24th.

See pictures of similar mosses events in previous years

Seen closeup

Bank Haircap  - Polytrichastrum formosum on the flags of the church roof.

Plagiomnium undulatum - Hart's-tongue Thyme-moss

We're having a break and looking at a lichen here.

Anomalous Bristle-moss - Orthotrichum anomalum

I am grateful to the Church Council for allowing us to use and look in the plants of their churchyard.

Come and test out your skill at seeing the difference between different magical mosses.