Well, it was a bit wet for a teddy bears picnic so we had our picnic in the farmhouse after our walk through the Atlantic Hazel Woodland between the farm track and the sea.
It was absolutely fascinating. The Atlantic Hazel Woodland people have been here several times. They were filmed here talking about the importance of AHW as part of a Landward programme with Dougie Vipond.
The event was organised by a relatively new group to the island called Wild Mull. They had arranged for Andy Acton, Brian and Sandy Coppins to come over. Sandy gave an illustrated talk in the morning and then we all headed down in to the wood. It was very wet, and we all got soaked, but it didn't really matter!
I was reminded of how little I know of lichen names, both Latin and English, and of what special woodland Atlantic Hazel Woodland is. It is an unsung hero of woodland, a relatively rare habitat supporting thousands of wonderful, and some very rare, lichens and fungi.
"The UK's temperate rainforests are fragmented emeralds in a sea of human-modified landscapes impacted by people dating back to the retreat of the last ice age. But these rainforests are vertically challenged compared to the more statuesque rainforests of North America, Chile, and Tasmania, some with trees no taller than 3 meters." Dominick DellaSalla (editor of Temperate and Boreal Rainforests of the World)
We definitely have trees of the no taller than 3 meters variety in the Treshnish Atlantic Hazel Woodland.
It was so wet I didn't take my camera - these photographs were taken on an iPhone which I had to dry out afterwards!
