Last year I did surveys of
four of Uckfield's recreational areas. This year I have decided to investigate Victoria Pleasure Grounds. I haven't explored these before but they appear large and well managed - balancing the provision of sports pitches with more natural areas. So far I have paid two visits, one at the end of April and the other at the end of May.
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| Daisies alongside the sports pitch - 26 April 2019 |
The photo above shows daisies next to a sports pitch in the original Victoria Pleasure Ground. The beacon is used when celebrating or commemorating important events such as the
end of the first World War.
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| Hedge and bank with wild flowers at the bottom of the park - 26 April. |
From a nature point of view, one of the most interesting features is the hedge that wraps round the bottom of both the Victoria Pleasure ground and the newer part, with the skateboarding area. The purple you can see on the photo is Ground Ivy, which was providing a handy meal for all sorts of pollinators. A month later and the slope is covered with Ox-eye daisies, Birds-foot-trefoil, Greater Stitchwort and many other wild flowers. Birds were flitting in and out of the hedge, presumably catching insects for their young.
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| Dog Rose in hedge, 26 May 2019 |
Moving into May and the Hawthorn and Blackthorn blossoms have faded but the hedge is now decorated with other flowers such as Spindle and Dog Rose. I was thrilled to find such a variety of plants as this is usually the sign of a really old hedge.
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| Red Campion, 26 May 2019 |
Following the hedge round the corner, I found a little wooded area next to the skateboard track. At the end of April, this contained bluebells and primroses. Now it has Cow Parsley and Red Campion.
The park also contains an area of Alders and runs alongside Boothland Wood, which meas that it contains a fair amount of woodland flora.
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| Buttercups and Yorkshire Fog grass - 26 May 2019. |
The grass between the sports and recreation areas has been allowed to grow and there is an interesting variety of grasses and grassland flowers. The photo above shows buttercups growing amongst pinkish Yorkshire Fog grass.
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| Malachite Beetle on a buttercup - 26 May 2019. |
Although I was doing a plant survey, it wasn't just about the flowers. While I was searching for flowers, I would hear a Chiff Chaff and when I was looking at the buttercups I found some beetles. Unfortunately my photo doesn't quite capture the almost metallic "British Racing Green" of the Malachite beetle.
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| Tall Ramping Fumitory. |
During my April visit I even managed to find a rare (for Sussex) plant. The Tall Ramping Fumitory is a rather weedy-looking thing but it has been recorded in only a few parts of Sussex. Uckfield has now been added to that list.
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| Wheat field - 26 May 2019. |
I managed to get a photo of the crop on the other side of the hedge that I mentioned earlier. There is going to be a great deal of development nearby. However, this field doesn't appear to be included in the
plans. I found myself wondering what would happen to it.
