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Walking Group One 25th April 2024
Five hardy souls collected today at Happy Valley for the first Hill Walk of the year .The temperature was cool with a North Easterly wind blowing and a hint of rain on arrival.
Off we set heading towards Russadale Quarry, spotting a Buzzard on the way.Turning into the footpath we remained sheltered from the wind all the way to the top of the hill.
The sun was out at the Quarry and a Greenshank was feeding at the edge of the Lochan. Then it was up the Peat road to the summit with spectacular views across Stenness and Harray Lochs, plus a view of the Closed Road beyond the Watch Stone. On the other side we looked over the Flow and down towards the Oil Platform and South Ronaldsay
Then it was back down after a stop for a snack and finally a walk around Happy Valley itself. The Daffodils planted by James and others were looking lovely and the Bluebells are days away from opening. Then it was on to a well deserved lunch at the Pier Cafe, having walked 4 miles and gone up 800 feet (and down again )
The next walk will be on Friday 24th May and hopefully more hills and views.
Keep moving.
u3a Botany Group - May 2023
by Kate - 18:34 on 24 May 2023
Nine of us met at the cemetery car park at the Bu, Orphir, at 2.00pm, May 23rd, for the first botany outing of the year. It was quite breezy, with a slightly damp start to the walk. However the rain cleared away not long into the walk. We set out along the cliff path from the cemetery, normally slippery, but, today, it was fairly dry.
It’s the time of year when flowers are just beginning to appear, but many are still thinking about it. So along the cliff path, a lot of identification of plants was done with discussions about leaf formations. This method found us 4 varieties of vetch,- meadow vetchling, tufted vetch, kidney vetch, and bush vetch. Of the same family, bird’s foot trefoil was found in flower. Other plants identified in flower were Lesser Celandine, Tormentil, Scurvy grass, Thrift, Spring Squill, Primrose, Silver Weed, Field Horse Rush, Broadleaf and Ribwort Plantain and Violet. Discussed were the different forms of creeping willow in Orkney - and should a new identification of the family be created.
Going up the path to the Breck car park, Wavy Bittercress, Mousear, and Changing Forgetmenot, Speedwell, and Red Campion were found in flower alongside the path. In the patch of heathland Common and Harestail Cotton Grass were identified almost in flower, alongside the odd spikes of cuckoo flower all around that area.
Up to the lovely Gyre wood, where we identified Marsh Marigold, Blinks, Gorse, and Pink Purslane in flower, and by leaf and situation were Yellow Flag, Foxglove, and Butterbur,(having flowered). And we managed to find and identify three of Orkney’s rarest plants, Dog’s Mercury, Hard Shield Fern and Hart’s-tongue Fern.
Walking back to the car park, the pink purslane all along the road has almost finished flowering .
A big thank you is extended to Chris MacRae for the delicious tea provided for some of us in Grindelay with tales of his family connections and the house’s past history.
Dog's Mercury
Female Creeping Willow
Changing Forgetmenot
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