For those of you that are thinking of going onto the hills I would strongly recommend that you read the advice given by the Mountain Rescue organisation of England and Wales. To read this advice, which will open in a new page please click HERE. If you would like to make a donation to the Mountain Rescue organisation which is purely voluntary please click HERE. Please make the time to read the advice page.

The Lady's Slipper Orchid is said to be Britain's rarest flower. It was once quite widespread across Northern England particularly the limestone areas of the Yorkshire Dales. In 1917 the plant was officially declared extinct but then one was discovered growing at Silverdale. Regular readers may remember a walk we did last year which took us past the Silverdale plant and I am pleased to say that this plant is still doing well. Today however we were in search of more Lady's Slippers. I had been told that there were a number at the English Nature Reserve at Gait Barrow although they might take a little finding. After putting last years walk on the website I got a small number of e_mails saying that it could encourage some of those of doubtful character to "pinch" the plant to which I replied that the Silverdale plant was not secret, it made the national press on a couple of occasions. As for the ones we saw today all I can say is that English Nature are having an Open Weekend where guided walks showing the Orchids will take place.....Anyway I'm sure nobody of doubtful character reads this website :-)

We left the car at Eaves Wood car park which is just behind the trees.

A very short section of road walking would take us to the cottages shown here which are located on a quiet lane leading to Hawes Water. The crags behind the cottages are those of the old Trowbarrow Ouarry.

Walking up the lane and looking over to the disused Middlebarrow Quarry.

Dr Doolittle is at it again.

The lane terminates in a path through the woods.

The path will take us to Hawes Water which although a little out of our way is too nice to miss.

Looking across Hawes Water to Challan Hall which we will walk by later.

Tadpoles in a quiet beck.

Having left Hawes Water we made our way towards Gait Barrows across colourful fields

We are now in Gait Barrows and on a path near the Limestone pavement. I had no idea where the Orchids are so it's a case of wandering around.

This is a wonderful section of Limestone pavement with not many signs of the shattering that ones sees in the Dales.

Gait Barrows Cairn.

And then!......perfection in the form of the Lady's Slipper Orchid.....I must admit to being helped in finding them when I saw a gent from English Nature with a watering can. There is to be an Open Weekend on the 5th & 6th of June (too late I know...blame the backlog) with guided walks to the Orchids. However there is some concern that they will all have flowered and fallen over before then.

And then there were more...There is also a problem with slugs, hence the tubes around the plants.

After a look around it was time to leave.

Our return was to Hawes Water and to the path on the other side.

Passing by Challan Hall.

And finally back to Eaves Wood.

The Silverdale Orchid

Until recently, the UK population was down to just one single plant. So rare is this beautiful plant, that it is guarded by wardens 24 hours a day to ensure that it stays healthy and no one tries to steal it. It's not only people that are responsible for the demise of the species in the UK; attacks by slugs, rabbits and voles have also led to it becoming so rare. There are records dating back to the late 1790s, when bundles of slipper orchids were sold on market stalls in Settle. The Victorians had a love of orchids, and would dig them up from the wild to plant in their own gardens. Sadly the orchids didn't survive, as the conditions were not right for them.

This is that one Orchid. All others are part of a reintroduction project with the help of Kew Gardens.

This year our first visit was on the 18th May when the shoots were clearly visible

This was the Orchid on the 24th May when we called in after the Gait Barrow search.

And on the 27th May when it was in full flower.

And finally... It's easy to see where it gets it name from.

Next Walk:     25th May 2010 - Arnside & Silverdale AONB - Arnside Knott via Far Arnside

Last Walk:     23rd May 2010 - Lake District - Black Fell and Tarn Hows

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