Counting on Nature in and around Holt in 2025

Count on Nature 25

June 2025

There were bewildered looks from passers-by as they navigated round our group of thirteen. We were staring intently at a few straggly plants on a wall near Budgens and then in pavement cracks along the Cromer Road.

It was Monday, the first day of the Count on Nature walks organised by St Andrews Eco-Church group. We were amazed to find over 70 plants on the walls and pavements near the church, some with interesting names like pearlwort and pellitory-of-the-wall. On returning to the churchyard, we admired the bee orchid near the church doors.

On Tuesday, the walk along the old railway line starting at the end of Valley Lane revealed some different and interesting species. It was a walk of contrasts. There were several fern species and twayblade orchids in the shady areas, while dog rose and elder were in full flower in the sunshine. We also learned a bit more about the history of the railway line.

The trip on Thursday was to survey the plants growing in Edgefield Churchyard, where we had been invited by the churchwardens. Large areas behind the church had been left uncut this year and were full of knapweed, buttercup and ox-eye daisy to name but a few. Several people had brought their own favourite flower book. We kept overhearing comments like ”well, it doesn’t taste peppery“ (trying to distinguish between stonecrops) or “use the magnifier to see if there are any holes in the leaves” (trying to identify one of the St John’s-worts.)

On Friday, we visited Hunworth Common. A favourite spot for many locals. It has always had ancient oaks and hornbeam, but in the last fifty years many other trees have arrived. A pleasant walk along narrow pathways as we admired the work of bracken clearing and tree planting carried out by volunteers.

Tony Leech had hosted some wildflower workshops the week previously, enabling us to understand flower families, and to examine plants more closely using a hand lens. The walks enabled us to put our new skills to the test.

Kate, new to the walks commented ” I was fortunate enough to be able to attend most of the walks . As the landscape of each walk was so different, it was fascinating to find so many varied plants all in their natural habitat. Many I had seen before but had no idea what they were called, so to have them identified on the spot was really good as well.

A huge thank you to Tony for his identification skills and collation of all the finds.

Grateful thanks to all who joined us this year. On each walk we had eight to thirteen pairs of eyes on the lookout for the flowers, grasses, and ferns that we have nearby. The plant lists will be displayed on the Eco-Church board until mid August.