Meeting details

Leaders: Jonathan Sleath & John Norton

This meeting was originally planned the previous weekend but postponed because of bad weather.

These sites are both in SU7959 on Eocene sands, gravels and clays. Castle Bottom NNR consists of heath, woodland and an extensive complex of valley mires, one of the most important areas of this habitat in the north of the county. There are no localised records for the site on the BBS database, but Francis Rose visited on three occasions and recorded 10 Sphagna and the uncommon bog liverworts Mylia anomala and Calypogeia sphagnicola. There is also an intriguing record of the rare Kurzia sylvatica, though a voucher was presumably not submitted and this taxon has never been confirmed for VC12.

Access is not easy. Significant areas of the mire are dominated by bog myrtle which makes access heavy going, but enough is accessible to keep us occupied. Eversley Common is the site of previous gravel extraction and there is a lot of open ground with pools and regenerating heathland, though we may not spend much time there.

Meet at 10.00am at the car park of Yateley Red Cross SU805601. https://goo.gl/maps/JgmhiMZoxSrFx4rN9 Wellingon boots are essential.

Please email jonathan.sleath@btinternet.com if you plan to attend. The meeting may be postponed if the weather is bad.