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Cornfield wildflowers and a wicker couple make for a memorable wander Cornfield wildflowers and a wicker couple make for a memorable wander
(2 months later)
When the Woodland Trust bought Low Burnhall farm with the intention of reforesting its cereal and oilseed rape fields, linking fragments of ancient woodland, the venture was greeted by some with a degree of scepticism. But the trust's remit was more than habitat creation and management; family participation in tree planting was a high priority, along with tempting people to explore a site that had been uninviting arable land. So they began with a spectacular planting of cornfield wildflowers, now in its third summer.When the Woodland Trust bought Low Burnhall farm with the intention of reforesting its cereal and oilseed rape fields, linking fragments of ancient woodland, the venture was greeted by some with a degree of scepticism. But the trust's remit was more than habitat creation and management; family participation in tree planting was a high priority, along with tempting people to explore a site that had been uninviting arable land. So they began with a spectacular planting of cornfield wildflowers, now in its third summer.
When we visited recently, the annual poppies and cornflowers of the first year, and last year's biennial viper's bugloss, had given way to waist-high meadows of perennial ox-eye daisies. From there the mown paths led us through the flowering grasses, between tree shelters crowned with fresh new growth of saplings, towards the banks of a broad, shallow stretch of the river Wear. Unlike earlier visits, we saw no otters but watched sand martins skimming the surface.When we visited recently, the annual poppies and cornflowers of the first year, and last year's biennial viper's bugloss, had given way to waist-high meadows of perennial ox-eye daisies. From there the mown paths led us through the flowering grasses, between tree shelters crowned with fresh new growth of saplings, towards the banks of a broad, shallow stretch of the river Wear. Unlike earlier visits, we saw no otters but watched sand martins skimming the surface.
The additions to the site that may have done most to foster visitors' affinity for this project are the double life-size woven willow sculptures, created by Ruth Thompson and Anna Turnbull. Under the benign gaze of the wicker coal miner, in flat cap, scarf and pit boots, and seated on an escarpment overlooking a mine that once stood here, we followed the riverbank path towards his wicker wife, more recently installed at the opposite end of the reserve.The additions to the site that may have done most to foster visitors' affinity for this project are the double life-size woven willow sculptures, created by Ruth Thompson and Anna Turnbull. Under the benign gaze of the wicker coal miner, in flat cap, scarf and pit boots, and seated on an escarpment overlooking a mine that once stood here, we followed the riverbank path towards his wicker wife, more recently installed at the opposite end of the reserve.
We found her in the shelter of a hedge laden with the elder blossom, feeding willow-woven chickens, her withy skirt swirling as if caught in a sudden breeze and her face raised to the sky, sensing a change in the weather. When we looked closer we noticed that someone had knitted scarves for her chickens and hats for the eggs in the basket on the arm; a symbol of a sense of goodwill that seems to permeate this enterprise.We found her in the shelter of a hedge laden with the elder blossom, feeding willow-woven chickens, her withy skirt swirling as if caught in a sudden breeze and her face raised to the sky, sensing a change in the weather. When we looked closer we noticed that someone had knitted scarves for her chickens and hats for the eggs in the basket on the arm; a symbol of a sense of goodwill that seems to permeate this enterprise.
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