The Natural Navigator» woodland

A Lichen Compass

admin — Thu, 09 Dec 2010 07:42:25 +0000

After the rather disgusting photograph a few days ago I thought it was time to right the balance with something more pleasing on the eye.

The snow has finally begun to thaw in this freezing microclimatic corner of West Sussex, but I did manage a fair amount of stomping around in the snow over the past week. This is a picture I took in my local beech woodland a couple of days ago.

Lichens are very sensitive to their environment – moisture levels and air quality in particular – but also the surface they grow on. This means that they can be used to understand direction, but a little local knowledge and familarity with the stones and barks of your area helps greatly.

There is a rust-coloured lichen that is clearly not keen on surfaces that dry regularly and can be found on the moist sides of many trees in southern England, not least beech trees.

It is a reasonably dependable indicator of north on trees that are open to at least some drying from sunlight.

(If there are any lichenologists out there that might be able to point me to the right page of the ‘Mosses and Liverworts of Britain and Ireland Field Guide’ for this particular friend I’d be very grateful.)

The Big Thaw

admin — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 11:59:46 +0000

The snow is melting away, but not at the same speed everywhere. The warmer wind which is blowing from the southeast today is leaving green swathes wherever it reaches. In this photo, which is taken looking east, the snow in the top right corner is being sheltered by woodland, but the snow to the left is also being left relatively untouched by the same wind because it is partly in the lee of the hill, but also because the woodland to the left of the picture is forcing the airflow up over it. In aviation terms the wind appears to be performing a ‘touch-and-go‘, coming into land before taking off again straight away.

The Dales Turtle

admin — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 06:16:05 +0000

Once I’ve got my bearings in a new area I like to look for features that will act as friendly reminders. This woodland on the opposite hillside in Wensleydale reminded me of a turtle. For the rest of my walk that day I looked to the turtle and knew that it ‘swam eastwards’.

Sun on the Beech

admin — Wed, 20 May 2009 07:38:01 +0000

Last night I went for a run through some beech woodland. The perfect tonic after twelve hours straight on the book.