Haugh Wood stands at the top of the
Woolhope Dome an area of geologically older rock poking out of the Old Red
Sandstone at the northern extreme of the WVAONB. Tucked away on the northern
edge of the wood is Joan’s Hill Farm. This is a 46 acre site of un-improved
pasture land which provides a rich and ancient flora. Under the auspices of the
charity Plantlife this area is being managed to preserve this special habitat.
Within the farm is an orchard which has
been in existence at least since 1843 and the task of the WVAONB volunteers (with
some volunteers from Plantlife) was to help in its preservation by building
some wooden tree surrounds to protect from cattle new trees when they are
planted. Cattle grazing is an important
part of ancient meadow management but the cattle tend to damage newly planted
trees as well unless they are protected. Under the direction of Joe Costley
who provided us with some background to the site and a pile of posts and rails
with which to construct the cattle barriers we set out with our usual
enthusiasm.
Despite the forecast we were spared all
but a few drops of rain although the grass and soil was very wet in places.
There were two basic techniques for building the shelters: either dig a hole
for each corner post or hammer in the corner posts. Both techniques were pretty
strenuous and at the end of the day achieved the same ends. Getting corner
posts square on and the rails horizontal proved something of a challenge and we
nearly had to resort to Pythagoras’ theorem at one point but ultimately all the
timber was used up and all the shelters made without anyone managing to hammer
their own thumb as far as I am aware.
As a distraction from the construction
works Joe took us into an adjacent field where the green-winged orchid was
known to exist and amidst a swathe of cowslips it was there in abundance. We formed a human ‘transect’ across the field
and counted by eye at least four hundred plants as we traversed it. A great
advance on the hundred or so plants counted last year.
This is a really lovely area and it is
well worth a visit – we hope to return in September by when the new trees
should be well established.
Green veined orchid
