Wildlife Circus

This circular walk, Norbiton - New Malden - Coombe - New Malden, is suitable for pyjama bottoms or shorts.  You may feel more comfortable wearing a face mask along THE CUT  as it is quite busy. There are opportunities to walk on grass verges rather than paths if you suffer from arthritis. Some background reading is advised to get the most out of this walk. The walk starts at the Railway bridge over the KINGSTON ROAD at Leigh Close Industrial Estate, where there is a footpath along the railway lines. Can you see the entrance to the footpath in the photo? On the left  is an old Cedar and some Lleyland Cypress trees which goldcrests love. They make a sweet noise, swinging up and down the register of the higher notes, that only people under 50 can hear well. You can search for birdsong here. https://www.xeno-canto.org Leigh Close industrial estate Kingston Road. Exit the footpath and you are at Elm road railway crossing and about to enter THE CUT on the right han...

Hoary cress around the pumping station The white flowered umbels of this pepperwort at the entrance to the wharf at Seething Wells are that of hoary cress,  Lepidium draba  (aka Cardaria draba ) and also known as Thanet cress, which is a deep-rooted, perennial mustard. This plant is becoming increasingly common on waste ground, roadsides and field borders in England and Wales. It arrived in this country from Europe at Thanet in Kent and was first recorded after the Napoleonic Wars. Sick soldiers were bought to Ramsgate on mattresses stuffed with hay, later given to a Thanet Farmer, who ploughed them into his fields as manure. The cress appeared in great quantity spreading over the south coast and via wharf sites. It is prevalent in East London wherever ‘sailors shook out their mattresses’. Plants are a frequent link to our trading past and this is a fine example. In our borough the plant is recorded at Elmbridge Meadows, Holy Cross School, Hogsmill Sewage Works and alon...