regimes in the past. Tlie party returned by the same route but most had the intense pleasure of wall<ing 

 through Suzanne Phillips' lovely garden at IVIedmenham Mill. Any tendencies to note the wild species 

 in the garden were rapidly eliminated by the beauty and variety of the cultivated species. 



Sunday 5 August 



22 members and guests joined Sally Rankin for a walk around Stoke Row on Sunday 5 August, 

 starting at the sports ground. A Kestrel Faico tinnunculus hovered above the long grass at the northern 

 boundary of the field, before perching on the cricket screen. The route led down through a conifer 

 plantation to Newnhamhill Bottom, where a flower-rich field on the side of the valley is open access 

 land. Sightings here included Harebell Campanula rotundifolia, Agrimony Aghmonia eupatoria and 

 Common Knapweed Centaurea nigra, with Essex Skipper Thymelicus lineola, Common Blue, 

 Meadow Brown and Gatekeeper Pyronia tithonus butterflies and Six-Spot Burnet Zygaena filipendulae 

 moths. Continuing up the valley, Wood Bariey Hordelymus europaeus and Nettle-leaved Bellflower 

 were found at the side of the lane. Sally then led the group up through woods and fields to the pond, 

 where Gypsywort Lycopus europaeus, Lesser Spearwort Ranunculus flammula and Purple-loosestrife 

 Lythrum salicaria were growing round the water's edge. Higher up in the field were cherry trees, 

 planted to give an income for maintaining the Maharajah's Well. The well is 112 metres deep, dug 

 through layers of chalk, sand and gravel to the water table below. It was donated to the village by the 

 Maharajah of Benares and provided up to 700 gallons of water per day Next stop was the churchyard, 

 where the flower-rich acid grassland is an uncommon habitat for South Oxfordshire. Heather Calluna 

 vulgaris, Betony, Greater Bird's-foot-trefoil Lotus pedunculatus and Heath Speedwell Veronica 

 officinalis were amongst the finds here. The final part of the walk was in the woods to the south of the 

 village. The footpath led through lichen heath, where both Pill Sedge Carex pilulifera and Remote 

 Sedge C. remota were identified. Deep in the shade of the Beech Fagus sylvatica woods, the 

 nationally scarce Green-flowered Helleborine Epipactis phyllanthes was an exciting find. Nearby, 

 about 10 plants of the saprophytic Yellow Bird's-nest Monotropa hypopitys were discovered, pushing 

 their way up through the Beech litter. Finally, several plants of Violet Helleborine E. purpurata were 

 seen, growing on a roadside verge at the edge of the village. 



Saturday 25 August 



Martin Sell led a walk at Little Wittenham on Saturday 25 August, starting at the Earth Trust's Neptune 

 Wood, which was planted in 2005 to commemorate the 200'^ anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar. 

 Nine members set out along a footpath which crossed three meadows that had been sown with a 

 wildflower mix. The first had not been cut and was still quite flowery, with numerous Meadow Brown 

 butterflies and a few Common Blues. A hay crop had already been taken off the other two fields. 

 Several Common Broomrape flowers were spotted close to the path. The hedgerows in Little 

 Wittenham proved to be particulariy productive for the nibblers amongst the group, with yellow 

 Mirabelle plums, purple damsons and small orange plums. These were followed later in the walk by 

 blackberries and Wild Strawberries. The route crossed the Thames, then turned upstream for a short 

 distance before re-crossing at Day's Lock. From the bridge at Little Wittenham, the tall spikes of 

 Bulrush Schoenoplectus lacustrus were seen amongst the riverside vegetation. Confusingly, this is a 

 member of the Sedge family and is completely unrelated to Bulrush or Common Reedmace Typha 

 latifolia. Towering cumulo-nimbus clouds had been threatening rain from the start and now the rain 

 began to fall in earnest, accompanied by thunder and lightning which approached ever closer. 

 Bankside flowers included Orange Balsam Impatiens capensis, Brooklime Veronica beccabunga, 

 Purple-loosestrife, Marsh Ragwort Senecio aquaticus and Marsh Woundwort Stachys palustris. A 

 Hobby was glimpsed several times. At last the storm moved away and Swallows Hirundo rustica and 

 House Martins Delichon urbica were watched flying low over the riverside meadows. Several Reed 

 Buntings Emberiza schoeniclus were seen at Clifton Meadow. From here, the route turned south along 

 a track with wide flowery margins, where Small White Pieris rapae butterflies were flying in the 

 sunshine. On the other side of the hedge was an extensive field of opium poppies. The track turned 

 into a lane and Common Cudweed Filago vulgaris was an unexpected find at the roadside. From Long 

 Wittenham back to the car park, the footpath ran parallel to the lane. Next to it were several tall 

 branched spikes of Twiggy Mullein Verbascum virgatum and blue-flowered Chicory Cichorium intybus, 

 plus a pink-flowered mass of Great Willowherb Epilobium hirsutum in the adjacent ditch. 



Saturday 8 September 



Graham Saunders led an evening walk to look for bats on Saturday 8 September, starting from 



10 



