Beechen Wood and Barcombe Mills

Field meeting reports

Meeting date: 31 August 2013

(Leader: David Lang)

On one of the last fine weekends of the summer, ten members met at Beechen Wood for a second visit at the request of the owner Bob Peters.  The wood area is small but, on our first visit in May, we recorded a total of 110 species. This time, our access was often obstructed by dense brambles or bracken, so that we only added eighteen species to the list for the owner. Moving on to Barcombe Mills, we continued tetrad recording in two areas, first to TQ41H down the west side of the River Ouse.  It is an area of grazed meadows, intersected by deep drainage ditches, now dried out.  However, with such an enthusiastic group, we were gratified to add a further 32 species, bringing the tetrad total to just over 400. Continuing southwards, we entered TQ41G which includes Culver Farm, whose owners had requested a species list.  The old Lewes to Uckfield railway line runs through the tetrad.  This produced some oddities flowering on heaps of chalk rubble.  A small field which had been sown with bird seed three years ago, then abandoned until lightly harrowed last winter, was now full of exotic, brightly coloured flowers, some of which had spread beyond the field edges.  A further 21 species were added. In all a very pleasant and rewarding day, so our thanks to all involved.