The heath...

Well, it was once limestone heath! The area of high ground south-east of Lincoln has a generally open and airy character, with many tumbledown stone walls and large arable fields, a far cry from the formerly sheep-grazed pasture. The high elevation means that the views from this part of the county are very fine - this is the view north-east over the Witham valley with the Lincolnshire wolds in the background.

I was out all day recording a couple of tetrads  and although much of the area is devoid of botanical interest, there are little remnants of old habitats, with species-rich limestone grassland along some of the wider road verges and areas of bracken and gorse (relicts of the former heath) on the highest ground. 

My best discovery was a small isolated churchyard in the parish of Temple Bruer, no longer attached to any settlement. The mown grassland looked superficially dull, but on close inspection I found a carpet of wild thyme and mouse-ear hawkweed with scattered plants of small scabious and harebell. There were also troops of fungi - blackening waxcaps and yellow stainers. All these lime-loving plant species are now very rare in south Lincolnshire - wild thyme was last recorded from this parish in 1950, but is clearly thriving under a regime of regular mowing!