A lovely lady from the village offered to show me the whereabouts of a quite rare species of primrose at the weekend. Leaving Wil to chill at the caravan , I met Linda by the pub and we headed along my favourite bridleway ,which connects the Eden Valley settlements of Melmerby, Gamblesby and Unthank. The flowers are growing on private land but luckily my guide knows the land owner.
I’m glad the weather has been dry recently because we ended up walking over quite a bit of soggy ground. In the adjoining field some young bulls were having fun chasing a group of ponies , then a hare. They also showed an interest in two crazy women cautiously navigating a bog. 🤣
Not to be put off by the curious cattle Linda forged ahead and we soon came upon an abundance of wild flowers. Now some of my photos turned out pretty blurry. I blame the bulls, the bog and the bright sunshine!
What we came to see of course were the Birds – Eye Primroses. And they did not disappoint. Linda was happy to see that the pretty pink flowers had spread their territory a little further….over the brook and into the bull field. Happily we remained where we were. 😊
Favouring both bog and limestone, the conditions here seems to be perfect for these rare members of the primrose family. The Birds-Eye Primrose tends to be found in the North and flowers in June & July. What beauties. So glad they are thriving in a tiny corner of The Eden Valley. 💗
How fantastic – never heard of them before, but they are wonderful. And that Heath Spotted Orchid is pretty special as well…..
The orchid was definitely special too, I would definitely have thought they were the common spotted variety if my guide hadn’t told me.
Beautiful … as you may know we are just back from The Dales and the wildflowers are in abundance … I particularly loved the cow parsley alongside all the dry stone walls 😃
The cow parsley is certainly looking it’s best right now. 😊
What a lovely lady from the village giving you a personal tour and those primroses are beautiful! x
I was very lucky. She was a star. X
A glorious post, thank you for sharing! I love seeing any wildflower if only I could remember their names🤔 The Bird’s-eye Primrose is really lovely. Definitely, a walk to remember! 😊
A lovely floral journey. Your identification skills are ace. I struggle with everything yellow – apart from evening primroses – abundant in the dunes just now and easy to identify! Even dandelions and buttercups throw me – there are so many varieties!🌻
I would love to see an Evening Primrose!
My lovely guide told me what they were and to double check I used a phone app called I naturalist. And I have a few books etc. I know what you mean about dandelions and buttercups though! X
They certainly are very pretty.
Wow I had never heard of them and aren’t they pretty. What an honour to be trusted with their location.
It was an honour indeed. A really nice lady. X
Thanks for sharing all the beautiful wildflower shots & it’a lovely being able to see some of my favourite UK places through the blogs I follow. I’m lamenting that I may never be able to travel over again & appreciate you all being able to get out and about & are good photographers to boot. Take care, stay safe & hugs.
I hope you will get back here Susan. Luckily I’m not that bothered about going overseas myself, though I have no family abroad , that makes a difference of course. Xx
So pretty!
Pretty in pink. 🙂
Beautiful 😍
Looks like you had a great walk…I love all the candid shots of the wild flowers. So awesome seeing them out of nowhere and adding colours to our world.
Thank you. 🙂
I’ve just driven through Melmerby on my way back from a trip to the Northern Pennines. Delightful village. You are so lucky to a caravan up there.
Birds Eye Primroses were a quest of mine doing A level botany. WE used to find them near Langdon Beck and Cow Green Reservoir above Cauldron Snout. They are perfect.
Oh I hope you post about your trip. We definitely need to explore the North Pennines more as we are so close when at the van. That’s cool that you drove through Melmerby, you must have come over Hartside fell. I did actually go to Cow Green Res and cauldron Snout last summer, but it was August so too late to see the birds eye primroses I think.
Such beautiful flowers, all of them. Thanks for sharing this outing with us. 🙂
Your very welcome.🤗
We’re lucky to have a few Bird’s-eye Primroses around the shore of Hawes Water right on the southern edge of their range. Lovely flowers – one of my favourites. How lucky you were to have a local guide who could show you where to find them.
I was very fortunate, she is very passionate about all the wildlife in and around Melmerby. 🙂