John and Gerry's    Orchids of Britain and Europe
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Northern England

               Notable species :-

                             Cypripedium calceolus
                        Corallorhiza trifida
                        Dactylorhiza coccinea
                        Dactylorhiza ericetorum
                        Dactylorhiza fuchsii
                        Dactylorhiza incarnata
                        Dactlorhiza praetermissa
                        Dactylorhiza purpurella
                        Dactylorhiza traunsteineroides
                        Dactylorhiza viridis
                        Epipactis atrorubens             
                        Epipactis dunensis
                        Epipactis palustris
                        Epipactis phyllanthes
                        Epipactis sancta                       
                        Gymnadenia borealis
                        Gymnadenia densiflora
                        Hammarbaya paludosa                  
                        Neotinea ustulata
                        Psuedorchis albida


                      Cypripedium calceolus
                                    Northern England
                              Hammarbaya paludosa
                               Neotinea ustulata                                   Psuedorchis albida

Areas of interest

For the purposes of this guide, Northern England is considered to be the area north of a line between Liverpool and Lincoln, up to the Scottish border. It is a region dominated by mountains which run north to south with similar high ground in the Lake District and North Yorkshire. The west coast is predominantly low lying with many broad sandy estuaries and some significant sand dune systems whilst the east is similar but generally more rugged in the north.

The sand dune system at Sandscale Haws in the Lake District near Barrow-in-Furness is a National Nature Reserve and home to several orchid taxons, particularly Dactyorhiza species but is best known for its colony of Corallorhiza trifida. Moving down the west coast from Cumbria into Lancashire at Southport there are some important and extensive sand dunes which again contain several Dachtyorhiza species but which also boast sizable populations of both Epipactis dunensis and Epipactis phyllanthes (pictured below). These two orchids are relatively common here but prefer the semi shade of the pines rather than the open dune. From an  orchid perspective the east coast of Northern England is of limited interest but an orchid rare elsewhere in England can be found in Northumberland. This is Goodyera repens (Creeping Ladies Tresses) which grows sparingly in Dipton Woods, an enclave of pine woodland near Hexham. 
 

Also on the east coast, not more than twenty kilometres from the Scottish border and just south of Berwick-on-Tweed, lies the tidal island of Lindisfarne or Holy Island. Eleven species of orchid have been recorded here including Coralorhiza trifida but by far the most significant of these species is Epipactis sancta, an orchid growing nowhere else in the world. Away from the coast and as has already been mentioned, the central region of Northern England is dominated by the Pennines and the Lake District, a geographical feature, producing a flora that generally comprises species of an upland character.

The region still includes relict pockets of limestone pavement and native woodland but intensive sheep farming has destroyed large tracts of previously natural habitat. Orchid species to be found in the nature reserves and surviving countryside include Epipactis atrorubens, Psuedorchis albida, Gymnadenia conopsea, Gymnadenia borealis, Gymnadenia densiflora, Dactylorhiza viridis (including variety longibracteatum) and Dactylorhiza purpurella. The star of the show however is Cyprepedium calceolus which having successfully been reintroduced, still struggles to maintain its foothold in Great Britain due to the activities of loathsome plant collectors. Good examples of limestone pavement can be found at Hutton Roof Crags near Kirkby Lonsdale, Warton Crags near Carnforth, Whitbarrow Scar near Kendal and Great Asby Scar near Tebay.

Of particular note is the National Nature Reserve at Gait barrows which has achieved much attention due to the reintroduction of Cyprepedium calceolus as mentioned above. It is however a reserve that protects orchid species other than Ladies Slipper and these include E. atrorubens, E. phyllanthes, E. helleborine, N. ovata and O. insectifera. The landscape of the Lake District is well known for its scenic beauty, though
it too has not been immune from the depredations of the sheep farming industry. Nonetheless it maintains  a good number of wild areas and nature reserves of interest to the orchid enthusiast. One such is a truly tiny reserve to the north of Kendal called Waitby Greenriggs but which for its size possesses a plant list that is be the envy of many much larger sanctuaries. It is a former railway cutting that was donated by British Railways to Cumbria Wildlife Trust in order to  
protect the flora which was recognized as special even in the 1960s. Species here include Dactylorhiza viridis v longibracteatum (pictured opposite), Dactylorhiza purpurella, Gymnadenia conopsea, Ophrys insectifera, Platanthera bifolia, Orchis fuchsii and in the damper areas can be found Gymnadenia borealis and Epipactis palustris.

The Yorkshire Dales and Forest of Bowland offer some orchid interest, notably at Leyburn Old Glebe near Ripon, a small meadow that survives amongst a sea of "improved" grassland and boasts Neotinea ustulata as one of its star residents. Also to be found at this site are Anacamptis morio, Ophrys apifera and Orchis mascula. As one travels further south, the region takes on a far more industrial complexion and natural countryside becomes scarcer, though even here pockets of orchid interest still exist, Healey Dell near Rochdale being an example.

Across the region to the east are the flat landscapes of Lincolnshire which in many areas have been sadly transformed into vast acreages of sterile arable farmland. Nonetheless orchids persist in scattered areas of natural habitat and not least along the coast near Mablethorpe where a good sized sand dune system called Saltfleetby Dunes offers a home to several species including Ophrys apifera, Dactylorhiza incarnata and Dactylorhiza praetermissa. Other sites of orchid interest can be found in the undulating Lincolnshire Wolds and amongst these is Red Hill, near Asterby which features a significant area of neutral grassland supporting  both Ophrys apifera and Anacamptis morio.

                                                                                 







 






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