Tuesday, June 23, 2015

Nature puts on magnificent show in Cornwall where land meets the sea at West Pentire

One of the South West's rarest natural spectacles is blossoming as summer unfolds along the Cornwall coastline.
                                                     

Carefully managed for nature and people by the National Trust, the West Pentire arable fields near Newquay are exploding in a riot of red poppies and yellow corn marigolds – but also creating a haven for some of the most endangered wild flowers in the country.

The farmland is managed specifically as a nature reserve for plants and animals associated with arable cultivation, and is not commercially farmed - one of only a few such sites in Britain.

The area is visited by legions of people every year who are keen to see a real reminder of traditional non-intensive farming methods of the past, which worked in harmony with nature.
   Local botanist and National Trust volunteer Ian Bennallick knows West Pentire well, and has been helping survey the land since the late 1990s.

Ian grew up on a farm in Cornwall, where an early interest in wild flowers and ferns developed into a wide-ranging enthusiasm for the natural world.

He said: "West Pentire has it all. In one place you have a whole suite of rare and beautiful arable plants, found in numbers unheard of in other parts of the country.

"It's wonderful to see people coming from far and wide to appreciate not only the summer show of flowers but also their dramatic setting, where the land meets the sea."

Last year, Ian found small-flowered catchfly in large numbers. This little white campion has declined dramatically in recent decades due to modern agricultural practices and loss of habitat.

Ian is also co-ordinator of the Botanical Cornwall Group and leads field trips in the county.

The West Pentire site has been surveyed since the early 1990s, and as Mike Simmonds, National Trust Lead Ranger, said: "It's fantastic to be able to share this special place with visitors over the summer.

"As we celebrate 50 years of the National Trust's Neptune coastal campaign, it's vital that we continue to care for the coast for nature and people alike."

The arable fields on West Pentire are included in a Higher Level Stewardship Scheme (HLS) which provides the funding and guidance to help the Trust, and tenant farmer Bob Coad, continue to conserve and enhance the site for its amazing abundance and variety of arable flowers.

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