Field trip to Buck’s Mills (Botany Section)

Buck’s Mills is on the North Devon coast, between Bideford and Clovelly.

The focus will be on monad SS3523, which contains a mix of ancient woodland, replanted areas, forestry tracks, and a stream-side village lane to the coast. The area has a good spring floral display, but another focus for the meeting will be updating records for the monad, as around half the species known from it have not been recorded since 2005 (and the most recent significant recording since then was in 2013).

The paths are uneven and steep in places, so suitable footwear will be required. Whilst there is a public car park within the monad (on the southern outskirts of Buck’s Mills), this is often full by 11 am on a Saturday, so we will not meet there. Instead we will meet on the by-passed section of the A39 at Buck’s Cross, by the entrance to Swanton Farm (SS 3556 2266, W3W:///resides.refer.refrained). See here for a map. There is plenty of roadside parking on the bypassed road to the east and west of that point, and it is reasonably close to the edge of the area to be recorded. This stretch of road is accessed by taking either of the southward turnings off the A39 between Buck’s Cross and the Atlantic Academy, then heading east. Buck’s Cross is served by buses from Barnstaple Bus Station and the journey takes about an hour. Buses are infrequent, and can often be delayed, so please check times carefully if planning to use it.

Meetings are from 11.00 a.m. to approximately 4.00 p.m. unless otherwise stated.

Non-members are welcome. Bring packed lunch, appropriate footwear and clothing, as well as sufficient water, sun-block, insect repellent or other essentials required for a day outdoors. Please contact the leader if you wish to attend – meeting details can sometimes change at short notice and if the weather forecast looks poor the meeting may have to be cancelled. You should also check with the leader if you wish to bring your dog.