Although no longer at their best, there are still a few poppies to be seen growing along the Wom Brook Walk. The one above was photographed amongst tall grasses and ragwort in the fallow area below the point where the Railway Walk crosses the Wom Brook Walk. It is a reminder of one of those rare, warm sunny days experienced earlier in the year!
The Friends of Wom Brook met on Saturday morning in an attempt to tackle the problem of the ever-spreading Himalayan Balsam which is choking sections of the Wom Brook, particularly along the Rookery Road section.
Such was the magnitude of the task facing the Friends Group, that after filling some 40 black bin bags with Balsam, further uprooted plants had to be left at the side of the Wom Brook Walk, for South Staffordshire Council’s Landscape Department to remove later this week.
In the above photo, taken at one part of the Rookery Road section of the Wom Brook Walk, the area marked in green (numbered 1) indicates a section of the southern bank cleared on Saturday morning. The area marked in blue (numbered 2) points to the actual Brook, and finally in red (3), one of the piles of uprooted Himalayan Balsam.
Harsh as the current view of this once splendid willow is, South Staffordshire Council were faced with the unenviable decision to drastically prune this tree. Expert tree surgeons were engaged to assess its condition, which upon closer examination revealed some dead areas.
The tree had already lost a large branch during one period of gale force winds a few years back. As the tree is located at a popular junction along the Wom Brook Walk, where the footpath crosses the Wom Brook and ascends towards the South Staffordshire Railway Walk, the risk assessment deduced that the willow had become too large to be safe for pedestrians passing beneath it.
Historically, willows were harvested during pre-industrial times, and following the advent of the Industrial Revolution, they were a source of fuel Wombourne villagers would utilise for cooking and heating purposes. Consequently, willows at the turn of the nineteenth and early twentieth century were kept to a manageable size, and did not present as quite a potential hazard to those walking beneath them.
The last two or three weeks along the Wom Brook have seen an upsurge in plant growth. Accompanying this has been a welcome introduction of early flowering plants, following in the footsteps of the hardier snow drops and crocuses. In particular white, yellow and blue flowers have appeared along the banks of the Brook.
Colonies of Forget-me-nots (pictured above) add a distinctive blanket of blue amongst the longer grasses adjacent to the trees.
For safety reasons, trees along the Wom Brook require pruning at certain times. In the above example, mentioned in a previous Wom Brook Blog entry (please click on the link below, entitled ‘January 2010 Tree Management) , drivers approaching the junction along the eastern end of Common Road, adjoining Gravel Hill were unable to clearly see vehicles descending from Gravel Hill towards the junction during the spring and summer months, due to the dense leaf foliage on the lower branches of this oak tree obscuring their view.
Tree surgeons contracted by South Staffordshire Council have removed some of those lower branches, which should increase visibility for drivers, and thus reduce the risk of accidents.
These spring flowers were photographed near the picnic benches, along the Wom Brook Walk.
In previous years, far more crocuses would have been observed at this time of year, but like the daffodils, their appearance this year is later due to the colder temperatures endured here in Wombourne over the last couple of months.
Resembling lanterns of white light, these snowdrops have appeared on the northern bank of the Wom Brook, close to the Bow footbridge that runs parallel to Gravel Hill in Wombourne. They are easily spotted-the brilliant white of their flowers standing out from the predominant browns and greens that surround them, but which fail to envelope or smother them.
Above is one of the trees the Friends Group believe has been identified as requiring pruning in order to make it safe. It has a large elongated lower branch. However such large willow branches have been known to break off, especially during high winds.
It is located by the new railings and next to the pedestrian bridge crossing the Wom Brook, close to Glendale Drive. The photo was taken on Sunday after the previous night’s light snow fall, and before the heavier snow fall which occurred during the early hours of Tuesday, causing disruption to traffic on the dual carriageway and along the Penn Road.
Today work had already been carried out on the oak tree next to Gravel Hill, which was reported to South Staffordshire Council for attention, as a large branch was only partially attached to the main tree trunk, and posed a danger to children who played beneath it.
That report featured in an earlier blog entry, which was erroneously reported as a willow- it is an oak tree. featured here.
South Staffordshire Council’s Landscape Department have commenced pollarding and other related woodland maintenance work this month on several trees along the length of the Wom Brook Walk. Specifically work will be carried out on:
The photograph above was taken a few days ago, along the first stage of the Wom Brook Walk, adjacent to Rookery Road. It portrays an autumnal scene, with some tree leaves beginning to change colour, prior to dropping from their tree.
There are examples of mosses growing on the willow that overhangs this particular bend in the Brook. The Brook itself is slightly discoloured by mud washed from the banks following the latest rainfall. Depsite the muddy appearance of the Brook, essential nutrients are being washed along the Brook to nourish other plants.