The Cumbria Lichen and Bryophyte group is a self-study group for everyone interested in learning, recording, conserving or simply enjoying Cumbria’s lichens and bryophytes (regardless of experience) .
Please join us on a field trip and share your experiences with us on the Cumbria Lichens and Cumbria Bryophytes Facebook groups.
Here are our most recent blog posts:
- Whitbarrow Quarry lichen trip report 30 April 2026
Whitbarrow is that bright white limestone cliff just by the A590 as you head towards Barrow, and a several-mile-long plateau of pavement, crag, woodland and grassland beyond. The group’s visited before- in early 2024- but that was on the western side by Witherslack Hall. This time, we were going to look at the south end,… Read more: Whitbarrow Quarry lichen trip report 30 April 2026 - Barbondale lichen trip report 21 March 2026
Barbondale is surprisingly little visited: if you don’t know it, you aren’t alone! You’ll find it on the map running between the Lune valley (just north of Kirkby Lonsdale) over to Dentdale (which some think the finest of the Yorkshire Dales, though these days it’s pretty much all in Cumbria). There’s a narrow road running… Read more: Barbondale lichen trip report 21 March 2026 - Barbondale bryophyte report 21 March 2026
Tempted perhaps by the sunny weather, quite a sizeable group gathered at the parking area by the cattle grid (SD 63784 82516) just below Barbon Low Fell. The bryophyte group was planning to look at the lower slopes of the fell, where there are a few gills and flushes coming down, maybe getting as far… Read more: Barbondale bryophyte report 21 March 2026 - Tilberthwaite bryophyte report 7 February 2026
It is unusual for the group to visit the same site twice in a year, but the diversity of habitats at Tilberthwaite proved too enticing. Our previous trip on 13th March 2025 focused on Tilberthwaite Gill and the areas surrouding the old mine workings, racking up well over 100 species of bryophyte. 11 months later, we… Read more: Tilberthwaite bryophyte report 7 February 2026 - Tilberthwaite pt 2 lichen trip report 7 February 2026
Eleven months on, we returned to Tilberthwaite. Last time we visited the old mine workings, this time the woods were our destination. We made short work of the journey from the car park; the riverside had fewer Cladonia and Peltigera species than we were hoping for and didn’t detain us long. Immediately inside the gate… Read more: Tilberthwaite pt 2 lichen trip report 7 February 2026