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Alder (Alnus glutinosa) Fearnóg
Ash (Fraxinus excelsior / Fuinseog
Aspen (Populus tremula) Crann creathach
Beech (Fagus sylvatica) Feá
Birch (Betula pendula / Beith
Blackthorn (Prunus spinosa) Draighean
Bramble, (Rubus fruticosus) Dris
Gorse /furze, whin (Ulex europaeus) Aiteann
Hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna) Sceach gheal
Hazel (Corylus avellana) Coll
Holly (Ilex aquifolium) Cuileann
Horse chestnut (Aesculus hippocastanum) Crann cnó capaill
Pedunculate Oak / English Oak( Quercus robur) Dar ghallda
Poplar (Populus tremula) Poibleog
Sessile oak (Irish Oak) / Quercus petraea / Dair ghaelach
Silver Birch (Betula pendula) Beith gheal
Sycamore (Acer pseudoplatanus and cultivars) Seiceamair
Wild Garlic (Allium Ursinum) Gairleoige Fiáine
Willow / Sally (Salix species) Saileach
It was cold, a snow clad winter wonderland at the end of March, we cannot lie, but despite this we had a hoard of 20 hardy souls (10 adults and 10 kids) gathered Cutter's carpark, Stranmillas Embankment ready to brave the elements to check out towpath trees. The walk has to be deemed a success as we returned without a child having fallen into the water!
The pace was surprisingly leisurely, given the weather, resulting in our longest walk ever (nearly 3 hours to cover just under 4 miles). The children enjoyed the snow, checking out every nook and cranny. They snowballed their way from one end of the walk to the other!
Trees are harder to identify when not in leaf, so Kevin was able to point out some of the more subtle indicators such as bud size, shape colour and branch structure.
The towpath yielded plenty of native species, Blackthorn and various types of Sally (Willow), smothered in Ivy are plentiful along the embankment. These species cope well with the damp swamp like conditions our ‘spring’ seems to be offering. There is Ash too recognizable by its black opposing buds.
There are some cattle on the other side of the river, Belfast Bovine, who would have thought?
Still early on in the walk we encounter a Blackthorn, shrouded in Lichen, otherwise known as Old Man's Beard. Old Man's Beard is said to make great tinder. It is also a sign of clean air. Beeches are here too
Then Kevin points out a sapling in the undergrowth, look at that …. ‘Son of a Beech’, there’s a tree joke for you!
Yellow Gorse is visible through the bare tree line. It seems to flower any time of year. A normally fragerant plant, also known as Whin or Furze, is said to make a good shampoo for highlighting blond hair, however it stinks when boiled in preparation.
From a distance we can readily spot a bank of tall Poplars, identifiable at any time of the year because of their slender trunks and thin upward reaching branches
At a turn in the path there are some Silver Birch, distinctive because of their white / silvery bark, almost iridescent in the right light
The kids can't resist going for an explore in the ‘forest’, a group of trees across the river. They run feral for a few minutes then clamber over the fence to rejoin the group.
We plug on down the path and make a river crossing to check out some old oaks and a glade of snowdrops that Justin seemed to remember.
Off this new path there is a field, which was so flooded and frozen it actually looked like a pond. We had to caution the kids who were enthusiastically hurling snowballs at its edge.
The Oaks do not disappoint, we find three very large specimens of Irish Oak, (distinctive from the English Oak by their more elongated leaves). One of these trees with a stout girth could be up to 400 years old in Kevin's estimation.
Opposite these we find a beautiful but hard to identify bank of ruddy shrub that could either be a variety of Willow or Dog Wood. It will need to come into leaf as to be more easily identified. However Maureen found the first glimmer of a leaf on it.
Walkers were getting weary but a of the few intrepid push up the tree lined path a little to find a glade of Wild Garlic under a large Horse Chestnut. It is low growing and abundant with a pungent garlicy smell, it grows like wildfire but works well in a pesto or salad.
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