North Walney National Nature Reserve
Walney Island is an 11 mile x 1 mile island attached by a bridge to the town of Barrow-in-Furness in Cumbria, UK. The central part of the island, around the bridge, is a large housing area built to serve the shipyard across the bridge. To the south is the older village of Biggar and to the north the village of North Scale. The southern and northern tips of the island are both managed as nature reserves. The southern one is an RSPB managed bird reserve. At the north is a reserve managed by Natural England to provide habitat for the endangered Natterjack Toad. Both reserves also have a rich flora and are especially noted for shingle beach plants such as this Sea Kale.
The highest point on the island does not exceed 20 metres above sea level, mostly much lower and we occasionally got cut off in our village by high tides covering the main road to the bridge. Walney is also one of the windiest places in England and one of the sunniest places in the North of the country.
For gardeners the island is significant as the source of the pale pink form of Geranium sanguineum. Now known as var. striatum it was once called var. lancastriense after its Lancastrian origins (this part of Cumbria was in Lancashire until 1974). This variety is endemic to Walney and is found mixed with the normal magenta form in just a few places on the island.
Susan grew up in the centre of the island (as did her father’s family). When we married I moved to the island and we lived in the village of North Scale, just a short walk from the north end nature reserve. Consequently I grew to know the place well during the 16 years we lived there. Though we now live 50 miles away it is still a favourite place to visit and has the best secluded beach in Northern England – ideal for walking Molly – and you may recognise the location from earlier posts.
The reserve has little vehicle access and is also separated from much of the island by the airfield owned by the shipyard (seen as a triangle in the aerial photos above). Since the road access washed out in a storm surge a few years ago the vehicle access is even more restricted and it is a good two miles walk along the beach to the reserve from the nearest parking.
The reserve is especially unique because of the diversity of habitats it offers in a small area. The seaward side is dominated by dunes, dune slacks and abandoned gravel pits, now ponds with abundant wildlife. The soil here is alkaline. On the leeward side of the reserve are mudflats and areas of acidic soil that hosts an entirely different flora. There is even a tiny area of heath and raised bog with carnivorous sundew plants if you know where to look – it is off the path and not visible from it and the area is no bigger than a living room. The rare Alpine Bartsia (not pictured) also grows nearby – an almost unique occurrence down at sea level.
So now to some pretty flower pictures:
Firstly the shingle beach plants starting with various colours forms of the wild Pansy (Viola tricolor):
Sea Holly (Eryngium maritimum)
Sedum acre
The Sea Pea and Birdsfoot Trefoil:
Sea Spurge and Silene maritima:
Wild Thyme
The damper areas behind the dunes are host to a number of Orchids. Here are Dactylorhiza incarnata, D. purpurella and my favourite UK Orchid the Marsh Helleborine – Epipactis palustris:
The more acidic areas are home to plants such as the carnivorus sundew:
Finally we reach my favourite area where the Geranium (both colours) grows intermingled with Burnett rose (kept very short by grazing – huge flowers on tiny stems) and the Sea Bindweed:
I did once set about drawing a poster to illustrate these plants but have never finished it. Here is the work in progress – containing my first ever attempt at a landscape (in graphite) in the middle:
Very pretty there!
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Thank you Julie. I do miss my long walks there. 😄
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Thanks for taking us on this lovely walk, Darren! The flowers are gorgeous as is the landscape and I love your WIP and that it combines these two elements. And I never saw carnivorous sundew before, it looks so pretty!
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Thank you Sarah. It is such a lovely place. Even nicer now that vehicle access is restricted as it is very quiet. One day I will finish that picture!😄
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Darren what a lovely post, so full of local information, beautiful photos and to wrap it up…amazing drawing! Thanks for sharing!
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Thanks for your lovely comment Marie. It is one of my favourite places. 😄😍
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One of our favourite places is County Kerry, the scenery and nature is food for the soul.
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I have only once been to the Irish republic. A day in Dublin whilst at a conference. My wife has been around the country to visit archaeological sites and the Burren. Maybe one day I will get there.
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Definitely one for the to do list! Try for April – September in the hopes of good weather!!
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Will do. Here we find April to mid june is generally good but then it rains a lot in july and august!
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It rains a lot here every month but at least it is warmer rain!! 😂
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Wow, I loved this post. What an amazing variety of wildflowers in such a small area, and your picture is already amazing in the unfinished stage. I would love to know how Susan enjoyed growing up there…was it too secluded or just a wonderful place to live?
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Thank you Jen. Much of the Lake District is overgrazed but being an island means this can be managed so that the flowers thrive here.
Susan loves the island and her family are still there, though her parents have now both passed away. She lost her dad only last summer so she has been sorting through the family photos that came from their house. You can tell how much she misses the island and it surprised me she was willing to move away – I never asked her to.
As a child the island culture was both comforting to her and also a little restrictive as she could not do anything without the mums network reporting back to her mother. I got a taste of this claustrophobic environment when we lived next door – as you will soon see in another Guest in Jest on Linda’s blog😀😉❤️
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oh my, the mums network is great for moms, pain for kids!! I’m sorry about her parents…I dread going through that someday:( Thanks for the insight into the island!
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The one consolation is that in both cases it was sudden and just as they were starting to lose their quality of life so at least they did not suffer for years. Thanks for your lovely comments as always my friend. 😊💕
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oh, that is a consolation. My dad is in almost constant pain, and it is so hard to watch someone you love in pain…still, he stays in good spirits. And you are welcome friend, thanks as always for answering my chattering:)
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Just beautiful! Love the plants and the fact that you know what they all are!
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What a wonderful post. It combines many things I like: knowing more about you, your beautiful pictures of landscape & flower, botanical informations and, lastly, your artwork. BTW, I really like the mix of graphite and colors in your drawing. Bravo! 😚
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Thank you so much my lovely friend. I really would like to do more graphite or mixed work😄❤
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You should! As much as I like colors there is something very special about a pic or drawing in B&W. I find It has soul. But your beautiful combo gives the drawing depth and brings a very interesting element, sort of a storytelling… You should indeed do more mixed work. 💕💕💕
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You are so kind to me😍. Dx
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💕💕💕
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What a beautiful landscape and those flowers……..such a beautiful spot……may be next time we will see Molly run on that beautiful beach and smelling those amazing flowers?
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Thank you 🙂
I am sure that a visit to the beach will be on the agenda for the hairy hooligan’s next visit later this month 🙂
Apparently she was totally manic yesterday. Either the cold wind or her new food have given her some extra bounce!
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When is your birthday ?
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Odd question, but Aug 20th..
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Ok, good to know 😉
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This looks lovely and your piece is great!!
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Thank you my friend😄😍
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You’re welcome!
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So beautiful! It must have been so nice to live there. And your artwork is amazing!
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It was nice indeed, and thank you 🙂
Now I’ve lived somewhere a bit more open-minded and cosmopolitan I could never move back to the island, though I’m sure Susan would.
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That poster so needs to be finished and framed! Stunningly beautiful my friend!
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Thank you sweetie 🙂
It is one of the few unfinished pieces I regret not completing. It was a course assignment and I simply ran out of time. I will go back to it one day 🙂
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One of the flowers reminded me of morning glories. Are they from the same family?
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They are very closely related indeed😄
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I love morning glories! I grow about 10 different varieties and harvest seeds each year! The fairies love them, too!
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I love them too. Especially the pure blue ones. They do not do especially well in our garden but I keep trying 🙂
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That is surprising, especially with your green thumb…and hand…and body! Maybe you need some magical morning glory seeds from Roda! I think I shall send some to you!
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Cool! Yes there are things I can’t grow. With these it is more that the snails like them as much as I do😢.
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I can see why this is a favorite place, it really touches the soul. The drawing is spectacular! I will be excited to see that piece completed. You are amazing!
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Aww. thank you Lisa. You are so lovely😍. Promise I will finish it some day.
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Gorgeous drawing, my dear. You really captured the delicate flowers. I can’t wait to see it when it is finished!
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Thank you Linda. It might be a while….😄😍
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It will be worth the wait. 🙂
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I agree with all of the previous comments as usual! Beautiful work, and really lovely photos. I recognised a lot of plants that we have here and some that grow here too – the sundew for instance. I wonder whether ours was brought here by the British or is an indigenous species or two? Anyway, the island looks stunning and I learned something new, again. 🙂
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Thank you!
You have lots of your own sundews in Aus, including some weird miniature ones and some that die back to tubers in the hot summers. I’ve tried to grow a few and they are not easy!
One rare Australian carnivorous plant that does do well for me is the Albany pitcher plant.
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Oh yes I know that one!
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Your drawing is gorgeous!
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Thank you😍😍😀
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