Over the years, we have developed a seasonal regime for our outings: woodlands in the winter and more open country in the summer. There was understandable discussion when Keskadale became the location for our August trip: would head-high bracken, voracious biting insects and spiky, malevolent gorse impede our access? And then there was the steepness of the ground…
Keskadale wood in the Newlands Valley is the most famous of the Lake District’s high altitude oakwoods. Francis Rose, in his report on Lake District woodlands from the early 1970s, said that “although of great ecological interest as an example of a high altitude oak wood it is not very interesting for its epiphytic lichen flora, probably because it is 1) too dry and exposed and 2) appears to be regenerated coppice.” He recorded 33 epiphytic lichen species. Since then, a number of other visits have been made by lichenologists, bringing the total recorded for the square to 73 species. Could we add to it?
We (four lichen folk) met at the Little Town car park, just managing to squeeze in on a busy August Saturday that was destined to be hot. The walk in led past an ash pollard boasting Ricasolia virens and Nephroma laevigatum. It had been reported to us previously, but I’d not actually taken note of where it was! Still, it’s always nice to make virens go green by splashing it with water.
After being briefly further detained by a spreading elm tree, we crossed the Newlands Road and tackled the hill. It was steep and slow going, but not as bad as feared. There were ways through the gorse and I don’t remember bracken at all. In not-too-long a time we were up at the bottom of the woods: stunted oak trees with no shrub layer at all. We quickly compiled a list of common species whilst getting our breath back, and then moved upslope. Given the weather, it felt more like a Pyrenean wood than north-west England.
Some features quickly became apparent. Firstly, almost all the tree are oaks. Ok, I found a rowan and saw a birch some way-off, but apart from that it was all oaks. All day. The trees are small, multi-stemmed (from coppicing or browsing?) and twisted. Secondly, there isn’t that much lichen. But there’s some. Ochrolechia androgyna was on many stems, usually on the downslope bases of trunks. Sometimes it was fertile. Decorticated dead branches often had Platismatia glauca and Usnea subfloridana. There was nothing to indicate any basic influence on the bark. But there was also nothing to suggest any serious nitrogen pollution: we didn’t record any Physcia or Xanthoria in the wood at all!
Advancing up slope we gradually began to record small amounts of more interesting species: Mycoblastus sanguinarius on a few trees; Megalaria pulverea, Loxospora elatina, Trapelia corticola. Caz pointed out Lepraria rigidula with hyphae projecting at right angles. All are indicators of acid bark. But it wasn’t until we were higher up still (and refreshed by lunch) that we found the expected Ochrolechia tartarea and Sphaerophorus globosus (both on rock). There were signs of sheep and deer presence within the now-fenced woodland, but towards the top there was a greater growth of sprouts from the base of the oaks; a smattering of regenerating oak seedlings and a heather understorey. I don’t remember this from a previous visit long ago before the fencing. So maybe there is now more regeneration…
Eventually we reached the top of the wood and ventured onto the hot dry slopes overlooking the oaks. It’s a rare feeling in the Lakes to stand above an almost natural tree-line, even if it’s a false sort of feeling. Keskadale wood felt quite extensive- stretching down the fellside, across to the gill.
We didn’t linger long above the trees, but after making a bit of a list of saxicolous species plunged down. It was- again- surprisingly easy going. Or maybe I’m out of practice at moaning about steep descents. Our goal was to refind a tree with Bryoria fuscescens that Caz had located some years ago. And what do you know- we did! Though there wasn’t much of it, just a few scraps. A little further on, where a bough had come down from the canopy, an out-of-the-ordinary Usnea caught our attention. Considered thinking later on made us realise it was Usnea fragilescens, a rarity in Lakeland, but a species that had been recorded from here before.
And then it was the walk out, dreaming of ice cream on a late summer afternoon. Back at base, samples revealed the rare in Cumbria Micarea lignaria var endoleuca (with a C+ persistent orange reaction) and some tiny nitrophilous crusts such as Myriolecis hagenii. There’s also an interesting “Caloplaca” that’s too large for what is now Athallia cerinella. The current total stands at 72 species for the wood for the day- eerily close to the 73 previously recorded. Some of those are new to the square though, and the western end of the wood near Ill Gill could probably do with a visit on another occasion…
Text: Pete Martin
Photos: Caz Walker, Chris Cant, Pete Martin
