Distant Forest of Bowland

We set off to the brickworks early, which was just as well as the induction took longer than expected. The H & S officer was lovely but rather chatty, and there was a lot of paperwork to get through, made worse by Covid of course. 

The brickworks manager gave us a lift up to the site in a specially adapted 4-wheel drive which had been partitioned into three areas using perspex sheet. It's impossible to get a normal vehicle up to the quarry which is high on the western edge of the Forest of Bowland with amazing view over Morecombe Bay and towards the Lake District.

The manager asked if we could be finished by 3.30 p.m. so Alex and  worked non-stop for over five hours, recording fifty vegetation samples. I've never visited in spring, and it was clear that quite a few species were not recordable, particularly as the area had been heavily sheep grazed. The site was also incredibly dry, which made identification of the mosses challenging! Fortunately, we'll be back for a repeat visit in August - I'm sure we'll have had rain by then.

Once we'd finally left the site, we drove a short distance to the Crook o' Lune car-park and had a gentle walk along the river valley. Alex spent some time skimming stones, and we enjoyed watching many sand martins swooping low over the water - they seem to nest in the eroding sandy river banks. There were also several pairs of Goosander along the river. This is the view along the valley with the upland of  the Forest of Bowland in the background.

After a very welcome shower, we headed out to Lancaster city centre to find dinner, which was purchased from an Indian Snack shop. We both opted for three curries and rice, accompanied by a mixed bag of snacks. We hadn't realised that the food was cold, and we had no means of heating it, but it still tasted very good! We sat on the hotel porch where the outdoor heaters were very welcome - it was decidedly chillier than last night!