William Fowler Memorial Wood - a lockdown walk

 A short lockdown walk yesterday to a small reserve on the outskirts of Chipping Norton, the William Fowler Memorial Wood. Quoting from the website Chipping Norton Green Gym, whose volunteers maintain it:

"In 1892 a 23.5 acre (9.5 hectare) field called the Picked Close or Long Ground was given to the town of Chipping Norton by former resident Mr William Fowler, then living in South Australia. The field was to be let as working men’s allotments of ¼ acre each. A century on, the allotment land, which adjoins Glyme Lane close to Chipping Norton School, was underused. Then, in the winter of 2001-2, seven acres (3 ha) of it were planted up with trees, mostly native broadleaf species, to create “a community wood for the townspeople to walk in and enjoy.”

Being  next to allotments there are established garden throw-outs amongst the hazel, beech and wild cherry.   Yesterday coming into flower were a few garden muscari (Muscari armeniacum), garden crocuses and primroses including the garden hybrid, Primula x pruhonicensis.  There were also lots of snowdrops, on which I saw my first honeybee of the year.   Given that all the trees were introduced, but thankfully native, another appropriate introduction might be the rather rare native, Muscari neglectum, which is found only a few miles away in Charlbury, where the habitat is similar.

The main interest though for me are the  few scattered bee orchids, surprisingly amongst hazel scrub, and a couple of plants under a young beech, so there may have been plants there 20 years ago when the woodland was created.   One of those last year, identified by Rachel, one of the dedicated volunteers, was a wasp orchid (Orchis apifera var trollii), and there are leaves there this year, but maybe not the same plant. 

Atypical bee orchid habitat

The reserve is suffering from overuse by dog-walkers however; despite an entrance sign asking for dogs to be kept on a leash, it was ignored by all those I saw, and as a result the paths and glades are being flattened.    There was also very little birdlife about.   Its a universal problem sadly.