Sunday, 29th September 2024: a fungal foray with Steve Joul

Posted on September 29, 2024 | Leave a comment
Friends of Adel woods on a fungal foray in Adel woods
Introducing the fungal foray

This afternoon we had our third annual Autumnal “Fungal Foray” with our local expert naturalist, Steve Joul. This was not a foraging event, but a chance to discover and learn about the amazing world of mushrooms and fungi.

We met in Alwoodley Village Green car park at 1.50 pm and Steve gave an introduction to Adel woods and fungi in general and showed us a spectacular golden bootleg fungus found on a fungal foray in Roundhay yesterday.

A golden bootleg fungus, found in Roundhay Park on 28th September 2024

Having introduced the talk, Steve led us into the area of woodland between the play area and Crag Lane to see what we could find.

Friends of Adel woods on a fungal foray in Adel Woods, Leeds

There are over fifteen thousand species of fungi in the UK, which means that it is impossible to know the names of all of them. Some can only be identified with the help of a magnifying glass or microscope and text book. The task of identifying mushrooms and fungi is made more difficult because there is often more than one common name for a species, and the Latin names can change as species are re-classified.

Friends of Adel woods on a fungal foray in Adel woods Leeds
“This looks interesting!”

Steve has made a list of the two hundred or so most common mushrooms and fungi which we are likely to encounter in Adel woods, giving their recommended English names and their Latin names. Impressively, Steve knows the Latin names for many of these species. If you would like a copy of the list, please email us or send us a comment via the comment button on this page.

From the woodland, we made our way to the track leading down to the cricket pavilion and from there to the woodland below Adel Moor. As we walked we searched for interesting looking fungi which Steve examined, identified and told us about.

Friends of Adel woods on a fungal foray in Adel woods Leeds
A branch infected by Green Elfcup

The find of the day was a piece of timber hosting Green Elfcup (chlorociboria aeruginascens). The mycelium (or root structure) of this fungus turns its host into a vivid blue green colour. The wood that this fungus infects, known as ‘green oak’ was highly prized by fine woodworkers in the 18th and 19th centuries, who used it in their intricate inlays for decorative wooden boxes known as “Tunbridge Ware”.

Friends of Adel woods: a fungal foray in Leeds
“So this is what we have found…”

At quarter to four, Steve reviewed all the finds of the day. There is a list of all the fungi and mushrooms, and photographs of some of them, below.

Mushrooms and fungi found on a fungal foray in Adel woods, Leeds.
The afternoon’s harvest
Common earth ball (scleroderma citrinum)
Birch polypore (Fomitopsis betulina)
Blushing bracket (daedaleopsis confragosa) photo taken by C Zanker
Common rustgill (gymnopilus penetrans)
Deceiver (laccaria laccata)
Hoof fungus (fomes fomentarius)
Green Elfcup (chlorociboria aeruginascens)
Coral Spot (nectria cinnabarina) sexual stage orange and asexual stage red

The fungi and mushrooms we found

We found twenty six species, including two new ones (for Friends of Adel Woods) shown in red type:

  • Beech Woodwart (hypoxylon fragiforme)
  • Birch polypore (formitopsis betulina)
  • Birch woodwort (jackrogersella multiformis)
  • Blistered cup (peziza vesiculosa)
  • Blushing bracket (daedaleopsis confragosa)
  • Brown rollrim (paxillus involutus)
  • Butter cap (collybia butyracea)
  • Candlesnuff fungus (xyaria hypoxylon)
  • Common bonnet (mycena galericulata)
  • Common earthball (scleroderma citrinum)
  • Common rustgill (gymnoplius penetrans)
  • Coral spot (nectria cinnaberina)
  • Deceiver (Zaccaria laccata)
  • Ganoderma bracket (ganoderma sp.)
  • Green elfcup (chlorociboria aeruginascens)
  • Hairy curtain crust (stereum hirsute)
  • Hoof fungus (fomes fomentarius)
  • Horsehair parachute (marasmius androsaceus)
  • Jelly ear (auricularia auricula-judae)
  • Ochre brittlegill (russula ochroleuca)
  • Poisonpie (hebeloma crustuliniforme)
  • Rufous milkcap (lactarius rufus)
  • Stump puffball (apioperdon pyriforme)
  • Sulphur tuft (hypholoma fasciculate)
  • Sycamore tar spot (rhytisma cerium)
  • Willow shield (pluteus salicinus)

JOIN FRIENDS OF ADEL WOODS!

We hope that you have enjoyed reading about our activities and would be delighted if you would like to join us.

Friends of Adel Woods were formed in 2009 to help maintain Adel Woods and encourage people to enjoy them. We meet one weekend morning a month to carry out various jobs or ”work parties”, and we also put on educational events such as bat walks, fungal forays and birdsong walks.  

We are a very friendly group and welcome new members who want to help preserve our special woods, enjoy fresh air and exercise in the woods, and make new friends. If you would like to take part in our activities, just come along to one of our work parties or get in touch by leaving a comment on this website – you should be able to see a comment button at the bottom of this page.

Our next events

Our next educational event is a Fungal Foray with our expert naturalist, Steve Joul, on Sunday 17th November 2024.

Our next work party is on Sunday the 24th November 2024 when we will be litterpicking and working with David Preston, our local countryside ranger, to dredge Adel Pond and clear the ditches feeding it.

For further information, please have a look at our home page.

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Saturday 21st September 2024: restoring Adel Woods: teamwork after Storm Lilian

Posted on September 21, 2024 | Leave a comment
Friends of Adel Woods: Adel Crag, Leeds.
Adel Crag, partially concealed by two fallen oak trees. Photo taken by Val Compton

Two teams today: one to pick up litter, and the other to clear up some of the trees toppled by Storm Lilian on the 23rd August. Two trees which are beyond our capacity to tackle are two mature oaks blown over onto Adel Crag. We are hoping that the Forestry Department will clear the trees away.

The tree team

Five of us set off from the Stairfoot Lane car park along Crag Lane. Our first target was a fallen tree about 50 yards along which someone had partially cleared from the path. We spent ten minutes clearing it fully from the path, before moving on to the picnic area.

Friends of Adel Woods clearing away fallen trees in the picnic area of Adel Woods on 21st September 2024
The picnic area, looking southwards down the Meanwood Valley Trail

At the picnic area a large silver birch had blown over the course of the Meanwood Valley Trail. It had also fallen onto a small oak tree, breaking some of the branches from the oak. The branches from the trees covered one of the picnic tables, rendering it inaccessible.

Friends of Adel Woods clearing a fallen birch tree in the picnic area of Adel Woods on 21st September 2024
A tangle of birch and oak branches

We set to with loppers and bow saws and it turned out to be a much bigger job than anticipated, taking us nearly an hour and a half to clear the debris.

Friends of Adel Woods clearing away a fallen tree in the picnic area of Adel Woods on the 21st September 2024
The picnic table covered in birch and oak branches

After we finished, the picnic table was completely cleared – and it was a pleasure to see some people sitting at it enjoying a picnic a few days later.

Friends of Adel Woods in the picnic area of Adel Woods on the 21st September 2024
Happy Friends of Adel Woods relaxing after a job well done!

We ran out of time to clear away all of the birch, but the tree trunk was really a job for a chainsaw. We are hoping that if and when the forestry department clear away the oak trees from Adel Crag, they will spend an extra five minutes removing what is left of the birch tree.

The litter pickers

Friends of Adel Woods litterpickig on the 21st September

While the path clearers were with saws and loppers, our happy team of litter pickers were busy on Stairfoot Lane and in the woods – picking up five bags of litter.

Sadly, they found a lot of flytipping – two carpets, tyres, tiles, garden waste, and bags of rubbish.

Friends of Adel Woods: fly tipping in Adel Woods
Tyres dumped in Adel Woods
Friends of Adel Woods: Rubbish awaiting collection in the Stairfoot Lane carpark
Rubbish awaiting collection in the Stairfoot Lane carpark

JOIN FRIENDS OF ADEL WOODS

We hope that you have enjoyed reading of our activities.

Friends of Adel Woods were formed in 2009 to help maintain Adel Woods and encourage people to enjoy them. We meet one weekend morning a month to carry out various jobs or ”work parties”, and we also put on educational events such as bat walks, fungal forays and birdsong walks.  We are a very friendly group and welcome new members who want to help preserve our special woods, enjoy fresh air and exercise in the woods, and make new friends. If you would like to take part in our activities, just come along to one of our work parties or get in touch by leaving a comment on this website – you should be able to see a comment button at the bottom of this page.

Our next events

Our next work party is on Sunday the 13th October 2024 when we will be litterpicking and working with David Preston, our local countryside ranger, to dredge Adel Pond and clear the ditches feeding it.

On Saturday the 2nd November we will be litterpicking and working with David on Adel Bog

For further information, please have a look at our home page.

Adel Pond

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Thursday, 12th September 2024: another morning on the cricket meadow

Posted on September 12, 2024 | Leave a comment

At 10 am today two Friends joined David Preston, Leeds City Council ranger, in carrying out further work to improve the orchid meadow (aka “the cricket meadow”).

FOAW had spent a couple of mornings mowing the meadow already (see our blog posts for the 16th August and the 18th August) but had only managed to mow about a third of it. Mowing is important because it encourages bio-diversity and in particular a range of wildflowers.

Friends of Adel Woods pulling up Himalayan balsam
Pulling up Himalayan balsam

While David set to with the brush cutter, yours truly got to work with a scythe, and our second plucky volunteer, Sharon, got to work pulling up Himalayan balsam around the northern edge of the meadow.

Friends of Adel Woods scattering yellow rattle seeds on 19th September 2024
Scattering yellow-rattle seeds

Although it was a lovely day, heavy rain the day before made the mowing heavy going as the grass lay flat along the ground and so, after about an hour, David ceased mowing and he and Sharon raked up the mowings and turned to other tasks.

Part of the meadow had largely turned to a dense crop of grass and so, having mown it this morning, David and Sharon scarified the area and then scattered yellow rattle seeds.

Yellow-rattle is an annual that thrives in grasslands, living a semi-parasitic life by feeding off the nutrients in the roots of nearby grasses. For this reason, it is now often used to turn grassland back to meadow – by feeding off the vigorous grasses, it eventually allows more delicate wildflowers to grow. It is called Yellow-rattle because it has yellow flowers and when they turn to seed the seed pods give a distinctive rattle. If you would like to know more, click this link

Friends of Adel Woods scattering woodland edge wildflower seeds in the cricket meadow in Adel Woods
Sowing wild flower seeds

Having scattered the yellow-rattle seeds, they scarified another area of the meadow and scattered some woodland edge wild flower seeds.

Friends of Adel Woods scything the cricket meadow in Adel Woods

In the meantime, yours truly was still scything away.

We finished work at about 12.30.

JOIN FRIENDS OF ADEL WOODS

Friends of Adel Woods were formed in 2009 to help maintain Adel Woods and encourage people to enjoy them. We meet one weekend morning a month to carry out various jobs or ”work parties”, and we also put on educational events.  We are a very friendly group and welcome new members who want to help preserve our special woods, enjoy fresh air and exercise in the woods and make new friends. If you would like to take part in our activities, just come along to one of our work parties or get in touch by leaving a comment on this website – you should be able to see a comment button at the bottom of this page.

Our next events

Our next work party is on Saturday the 21st September when we will be litterpicking and path clearing.

Our next educational event will be on Sunday the 29th September 2024 from 2 pm to 4 pm when local naturalist Steve Joul will be leading a fungal foray. Please note, this is not an event for collecting mushrooms to eat, but an opportunity to learn about the many species of fungi to be found in Adel Woods.

For further information, please have a look at our home page.

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Wednesday, 28th August 2024: a guided bat walk experience in Adel Woods

Posted on August 28, 2024 | Leave a comment
Friends of Adel Woods in Old Leo's carpark: a bat walk in Adel Woods on the 28th August 2024

A fine evening for a bat walk led by our local council ranger, David Preston, ably supported by fellow ranger Toby Amos from Gotts Park in Armley. We had thirty five attendees – twenty six adults and nine children.

We met in Alwoodley Village Green car park at 7.15 pm and, after introductions, David distributed bat detectors and information about the seventeen species of bats which breed in the United Kingdom.

Bats come out at dusk and fly around silently (to the human ear) at great speed. Unless you are a real bat expert, the only way to identify bat species is by using a bat detector.

Friends of Adel Woods: bat detectors
A pair of electronic bat detectors

Bat detectors pick up very high pitched sounds made by bats in flight and convert them to a pitch which humans can hear. Different species of bat make sounds of a specific pitch so that it is possible using a detector to identify the type of bat you can see whizzing through the air above you.

Friends of Adel Woods: a list of seventeen species of bat resident in the UK
The seventeen species of bat which breed in the UK

Armed with our bat detectors, we made our way along Crag Lane to Old Leo’s Rugby Club’s car park. Here David gave us some tuition on how to use the bat detectors.

David Preston explains how to use a bat detector to Friends of Adel Woods while fellow ranger Toby Amos looks on.
David explains how to use a bat detector

Bats are able to see, but do not have very good night vision, so they use send out regular high pitched shouting sounds which we can’t hear and use the echos that come back from the objects around them to navigate their way through the trees and around their local area, and hunt for insects while flying. This is a process called echo-location and it is the high pitched shouting sounds which bat detectors pick up. There are various types of bat detector and we were using ones which you can adjust to different frequencies to identify bats in the vicinity.

Friends of Adel Woods using bat detectors to listen for bats
Listening for bats in the vicinity of the bat boxes in Adel Woods

From Old Leo’s we made our way into the woods to look at some bat boxes put up by Friends of Adel Woods In January 2010. While having a look at the bat boxes, we got our first clicks from some of the bat detectors, but we were unable to spot any bats flying around.

Bats don’t build a nest but find somewhere they can roost or raise their young in holes in trees, caves or buildings – or in tailor-made bat boxes. Bat boxes are different from nest boxes for tits and sparrows in that they don’t have a hole in the front. Instead, there is a thin slot in the bottom of the box and bats land below and crawl up into the box through the slot.

Having said the above, bats will sometimes roost in bird nest boxes. A few years ago, when Friends of Adel Woods were cleaning and surveying our nest boxes, we were amazed to find a noctule bat hibernating in one of them. We were even more surprised the following year to find a noctule bat – presumably the same one – hibernating in the same nest box. On each occasion we immediately closed the box and put it back up causing as little disturbance to the bat as possible.

Friends of Adel Woods looking out for bats on a bat walk led by David Preston
In the picnic area: “Look – there’s a bat!”

From the bat boxes we made our way along Crag Lane to the picnic area where we got our first clear clicks from the bat detectors and sightings of bats in flight. It is always an exciting moment to hear the bat detectors start to click away and spot a bat flitting to and fro as it hunts for insects around the canopy of the trees. A pipistrelle bat will eat 3,000 tiny insects in a single night and it is awe-inspiring that it catches these insects using only sound echos to identify where they are, their size and shape, and their direction of travel.

Friends of Adel Woods and Adel Crag
Adel Crag

From the picnic area we made our way to Adel Crag, where we saw and “heard” more bats.

An interesting fact about Adel Crag, is that the sculptor Henry Moor said that the landscapes which most influenced his work were the slag heaps of Castleford and Adel Rock. Today the Crag’s magnificence was partly obscured by a huge oak tree which had fallen over it, blown over by the recent Storm Lilian.

Friends of Adel Woods on a bat walk in the disused rugby pitch in Adel Woods on the 28th August 2024
Looking for bats in the disused practice rugby pitch

From the Crag we made our way back to the picnic area, along Crag Lane and around the disused rugby pitch, where we spotted more bats. Finally, we went down to the cricket pavilion before returning to the Village Green car park at about 9.10 pm.

On our journey through the woods we detected four different species of bats: pipistrelle; soprano pipistrelle; Nathusius’s pipistrelle; and noctule, our largest species. Nathusius’s pipistrelle is a surprise: the Bat Conservation Trust say that Nathusius’s pipistrelle is a rare bat in the UK though its numbers have increased in recent years.

All in all it was a very enjoyable and exciting evening, and we are grateful to David Preston and Leeds City Council for making it possible – and grateful to all our enthusiastic participants.

ABOUT FRIENDS OF ADEL WOODS

Friends of Adel Woods were formed in 2009 to help maintain Adel Woods and encourage people to enjoy them. We meet one weekend morning a month to carry out various jobs or ”work parties”, and we also put on educational events.  We are a very friendly group and welcome new members who want to help preserve our special woods, enjoy fresh air and exercise in the woods and make new friends. If you would like to take part in our activities, just come along to one of our work parties or get in touch by leaving a comment on this website – you should be able to see a comment button at the bottom of this page.

Our next events

Have a look at our Home Page for details of our next work party

Our next educational event will be on Sunday the 29th September 2024 from 2 pm to 4 pm when local naturalist Steve Joul will be leading a fungal foray. Please note, this is not an event for collecting mushrooms to eat, but an opportunity to learn about the many species of fungi to be found in Adel Woods.

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Sunday 18th August 2024: litterpicking – and four men and three women went to mow…

Posted on August 18, 2024 | 1 comment
Friends of Adel Woods in Leeds litterpicking on the 18th August 2024
Three happy litter pickers!

A lovely morning for litterpicking and mowing the orchid meadow.

Our three litter pickers had a bumper morning, picking up five bags of litter. Starting in Buck Stone Road.

Their very first task was to pick up two large piles of dog poo on the path down to the Slabbering Baby – kudos to them for doing it, but it is something that they should really not have to do. After that, they made their way along Crag Lane to Adel Crag. The worst area for litter was around the picnic tables near Adel Crag, where assorted litter had been mown into little pieces.

Friends of Adel Woods scything the orchid meadow in Adel Woods on the 18th August 2024
Mowing the meadow with scythes

While our litter pickers were doing tasks beyond the call of duty, six of us joined David Preston, our local countryside ranger, in mowing the orchid (or cricket) meadow with scythes and raking up the mowings. David and yours truly had started mowing the meadow on Friday – as can be seen in our blog report for 16th August which gives a hint of how the meadow looked before mowing.

Friends of Adel Woods scything the orchid meadow in Adel Woods on the 18th August 2024
Looking southwards across the meadow – some of it mown and raked and some pending
Friends of Adel Woods scything the orchid meadow in Adel Woods on the 18th August 2024
Friends of Adel Woods scything the orchid meadow in Adel Woods on the 18th August 2024
Five of our seven mowers and rakers (or movers and shakers!)

The haystack in the foreground of the photograph is a small fraction of the total shifted into the woods for composting.

Friends of Adel Woods scything the orchid meadow in Adel Woods on the 18th August 2024
Looking northwards, a clear line between the area that has been mown and raked and the area yet to be done.

We have managed to cut and rake about a third of the meadow. We may put in another session this Autumn to do some more. This is why we do it….

Friends of Adel Woods: wild flowers in the orchid meadow
Some of the wildflowers in the meadow in June 2022

ABOUT FRIENDS OF ADEL WOODS

Friends of Adel Woods were formed in 2009 to help maintain Adel Woods and encourage people to enjoy them. We meet one weekend morning a month to carry out various jobs or ”work parties”, and we also put on educational events.  We are a very friendly group and welcome new members who want to help preserve our special woods, enjoy fresh air and exercise in the woods and make new friends. If you would like to take part in our activities, just come along to one of our work parties or get in touch by leaving a comment on this website – you should be able to see a comment button at the bottom of this page.

Our next events

Have a look at our Home Page for details of our next work party

Our next educational event will be on Sunday the 29th September 2024 from 2 pm to 4 pm when local naturalist Steve Joul will be leading a fungal foray. Please note, this is not an event for collecting mushrooms to eat, but an opportunity to learn about the many species of fungi to be found in Adel Woods

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Friday, 16th August 2024: two men went to mow, mow the orchid meadow

Posted on August 16, 2024 | 2 comments
Friends of Adel Woods in the orchid meadow, Adel Woods on the 30th June 2024
Steve Joul guiding a group in the orchid (or cricket) meadow in June 2024

Friends of Adel Woods have been looking after the orchid (also known as the cricket meadow) since 2014. It is home to many beautiful common spotted orchids which flower in July each year, as well as other wild flowers.  

Friends of Adel Woods and the orchid meadow in Adel Woods on the 15th August 2024
The northern boundary of the orchid meadow on 15th August 2024

To keep it in good condition, we need to mow it in August each year and rake off the mowings. As you can see in the photograph above taken today, by August, it is in a pretty unruly state.

Today, your correspondent and David Preston, Parks and Countryside Ranger, spent the morning mowing the meadow – your correspondent using a scythe, and David using a brush cutter – so that Friends of Adel Woods can rake off the mowings in two days time, on Sunday. It was a beautiful morning.

Friends of Adel Woods find a toadlet in the orchid meadow on the 15th August 2024

In the course of our work, David came across a number of toads in the vegetation including the little toadlet in the photograph above, and the mature toad in the photograph below.

Friends of Adel Woods on the orchid meadow and a toad

We worked from 9 till 12.45 in which time your correspondent had scythed the area shown in the photograph below (the same area shown in the second photograph above)…

Friends of Adel Woods on the orchid meadow on 15th August 2024
The northern boundary of the orchid meadow after a morning’s scything
Friends of Adel Woods and the orchid meadow

…and David had mown with the brush cutter a much larger area as shown in the photograph above.

You can find out more about the meadow by clicking here

On the way home, your correspondent went to have a look at Adel Moor – another area where Friends of Adel Woods have done a lot of work over the last fifteen years – and it was looking magnificent!

Friends of Adel Woods and Adel Moor 15th August 2024
Adel Moor today

ABOUT FRIENDS OF ADEL WOODS

Friends of Adel Woods were formed in 2009 to help maintain Adel Woods and encourage people to enjoy them. We meet one weekend morning a month to carry out various jobs or ”work parties”, and we also put on educational events.  We are a very friendly group and welcome new members who want to help preserve our special woods, enjoy fresh air and exercise in the woods and make new friends. If you would like to take part in our activities, just come along to one of our work parties or get in touch by leaving a comment on this website – you should be able to see a comment button at the bottom of this page.

Our next events

Our next work party is on Sunday the 18th August 2024 when we will be litterpicking and working on the orchid meadow.

Our next educational event will be on Wednesday the 28th August 2024 from 7.15 to 9 pm when David Preston will be leading a bat walk.

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Sunday, 21st July 2024: a Stream and Pond Safari

Posted on July 21, 2024 | Leave a comment
Steve Joul of Friends of Adel Woods in Nanny Back Alwoodley, Leeds
Pond dipping in Nanny Beck

This afternoon Steve Joul, a local naturalist and FOAW committee member, led a Stream and Pond Safari in Adel Woods.

At 2 pm, we met in the Village Green carpark. Steve gave an introductory talk to an enthusiastic group of adults and children, and handed out various fishing nets and containers for transportation to our first port of call – the “beach” next to the bridge across Nanny Beck behind the cricket pavilion.

Once there, Steve moved a few stones in the bottom of the stream, collected a sample of mud and emptied into a tray so that we could see what he had collected.

Friends of Adel Woods: a pond and stream safari on 21st July.
What have we got here?

What seemed at first to be inanimate organic material soon turned out to be full of life – as can be seen from the video below.

In the video we can see freshwater shrimps darting about. Other creatures in the sample were water mite, bloodworms and sludge worms. In the video Steve can be heard to mention “bullheads” – small fish, similar in size to minnows and sticklebacks. We did not find any in Nanny Beck, but we did later on in Meanwood Beck and there is a photograph of one below.

When we had all had a good look Steve returned the creatures to the stream and we made our way down to Adel Pond.

Friends of Adel Woods at Adel Pond in Adel Woods on the 21st July 2024
Adel Pond

At the pond one of our party soon spotted a newt and Steve caught a couple so that people could have a good look. In the UK we have three species of native newts: the great crested newt, smooth newts and palmate newts. In Adel Pond we have palmate newts, so called because the males have webbing on their back feet. Another distinctive feature is that the males also have a a thin filament at the end of their tails during the breeding season.

A palmate newt in Adel Pond, Adel Woods, Leeds.
A palmate newt

We also caught some fearsome dragonfly larvae in the pond.

Ad dragonfly nymph; Adel Pond, Friends of Adel Woods on the 21st July 2024
A dragonfly nymph

Finally, at 3.30 we made our way down to the bridge over Meanwood Beck leading to Spring Hill. Here Steve collected a further sample of material from the bottom of the beck.

Friends of Adel Woods on a pond and stream safari in Adel Woods on the 21st July 2024
Looking the sample from Meanwood Beck

Among the creatures found in this sample was a bullhead – a small fish which lives on the bottom of fast stony rivers and streams, feeding on such things as mayfly and caddisfly larvae and the eggs of other fish.

A bullhead taken from Meanwood Beck in Adel Woods on the 21st July 2024: Friends of Adel Woods
A bullhead from Meanwood Beck

By now it was 4 pm and time to make our way home.

In case you are wondering, no creatures were harmed in the course of our safari, and all were returned safely to their natural habitat.

Thank you to Steve for a very interesting afternoon which certainly caught the imagination of all who attended – not least the youngsters.

Friends of Adel Woods: a stream and pond safari on the 21st July 2024.
Pond dipping in Meanwood Beck

ABOUT FRIENDS OF ADEL WOODS

Friends of Adel Woods were formed in 2009 to help maintain Adel Woods and encourage people to enjoy them. We meet one weekend morning a month to carry out various jobs or ”work parties”, and we also put on educational events.  We are a very friendly group and welcome new members who want to help preserve our special woods, enjoy fresh air and exercise in the woods and make new friends. If you would like to take part in our activities, just come along to one of our work parties or get in touch by leaving a comment on this website – you should be able to see a comment button at the bottom of this page.

Our next events

Our next work party is on Sunday the 18th August 2024 when we will be litterpicking and working on our orchid meadow (also known as the cricket meadow).

Our next educational event will be on Wednesday the 28th August 2024 from 7.15 to 9 pm when our local countryside ranger, David Preston, will be leading a bat walk.

Further details will be given on our homepage and sent out via our mailing list.

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Saturday, 20th July 2024: titivating the Buck Stone

Posted on July 20, 2024 | Leave a comment
Friends of Adel Woods, the Buck Stone, Adel Woods, Leeds
The Buck Stone in all its glory in November 2023

The Buck Stone is a local landmark from which the local housing estate gets its name. It has appeared on local maps for at least two hundred years. Until about twenty years ago it was a place where children could play, and where you could sit and enjoy nature, but over the years it became concealed under the spreading branches of an oak tree.

In 2012, responding to requests from local residents, Friends of Adel Woods restored it to its former glory, and we have carried out further maintenance work in the years since. You can find out more in our entries for 18th March 2012 and the 30th March 2012.

As you can see from the photograph below taken on the 6th July 2024, nature moves in quickly! So today it was time to do some further tidying up!

Friends of Adel Woods: the Buck Stone on 6th July 2024
The Buck Stone on 6th July 2024

If you don’t know where the Buck Stone is, it is in Adel Woods just behind the houses on Buck Stone Avenue. About twenty yards from the junction with Buck Stone Way, there is a ginnel marked by a public footpath sign between two bungalows. Go down the ginnel and follow the path to your right, and you will find the Buck Stone.

Friends of Adel Woods clearing Himalayan balsam and bracken from around the Buck Stone in Adel Wood, Leeds

A small but international group of us met in Buck Stone Avenue at 10 am. International because one of our number, Jen, a former stalwart of Friends of Adel Woods, had flown in from her home in Australia, just to help Friends of Adel Woods!

Friends of Adel Woods clearing bracken and Himalayan balsam from around the Buck Stone in Adel Woods

As can be seen in the photographs, the bracken and Himalayan balsam surrounding the Buck Stone and on either side of the path was very thick and as much as eight to ten feet tall. We started by clearing bracken and Himalayan balsam from around the Buck Stone and then cleared it from the paths. Disappointingly, a dog owner had used a small area in front of the Buck Stone as a dog toilet, so we had to start work by removing as much as we could and covering the rest with a layer of bracken and balsam.

Friends of Adel Woods: a robin's nest

Deep among the Himalayan balsam we found this perfect nest – no longer in use, so we assume that its occupants had successfully fledged. It was a very small nest – the inside of the cup was about 5-6 cm across – so our guess is that it was a robin’s nest. If anyone has any other suggestions, please let us know!

The path running along the back of the houses on Buck Stone Avenue had been overgrown until it was almost invisible. We opened it up again as can be seen in the following photographs.

Friends of Adel Woods clearing bracken and Himalayan balsam from the path behind Buck Stone Avenue, Leeds.
Looking eastwards along the path behind Buck Stone Avenue on the 6th July
Friends of Adel Woods clearing Himalayan Balsam and bracken from the path behind Buck Stone Avenue, Leeds
The same path at 11.44 on the 20th July

Thank you to all our wonderful volunteers for the work they did this morning – and to Jen for joining us from Australia!

Friends of Adel Woods and the Buck Stone, 20th July 2024
Friends of Adel Woods

ABOUT FRIENDS OF ADEL WOODS

Friends of Adel Woods were formed in 2009 to help maintain Adel Woods and encourage people to enjoy them. We meet one weekend morning a month to carry out various jobs or ”work parties”, and we also put on educational events.  We are a very friendly group and welcome new members who want to help preserve our special woods, enjoy fresh air and exercise in the woods and make new friends. If you would like to take part in our activities, just come along to one of our work parties or get in touch by leaving a comment on this website – you should be able to see a comment button at the bottom of this page.

Our next events

Our next work party is on Sunday the 18th August 2024 when we will be litterpicking and working on our orchid meadow (also known as the cricket meadow).

Our next educational event will be on Wednesday the 28th August 2024 from 7.15 to 9 pm when our local countryside ranger, David Preston, will be leading a bat walk.

Further details will be given on our homepage and sent out via our mailing list.

Brambles in Adel Woods

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Sunday, 30th June 2024: exploring biodiversity (and other things) in Adel Woods with naturalist Steve Joul

Posted on June 30, 2024 | Leave a comment

At 2.00 pm this afternoon, about twenty of us met up with Steve Joul in Alwoodley Village Green car park for an enjoyable and educational stroll through Adel Woods. Steve is a very knowledgable local naturalist and a member of the committee of Friends of Adel Woods. He has many years of experience of working in Adel Woods and studying their flora and fauna.

This was a talk which Steve initially arranged with Alwoodley 2030 with the support of Friends of Adel Woods. Alwoodley 2030 is a community-driven initiative to make Alwoodley zero carbon, nature positive and socially just by 2030.

Friends of Adel Woods in Alwoodley Plantation on the 30th June 2024
Examining bark on a tree in Alwoodley Plantation

Having given a brief introductory talk about the ecology of the area and the variety of habitats in Adel Woods, Steve led us into Crag Lane and then to the right into Alwoodley Plantation – an area where there are a number of Scots Pine, beech and larch trees, presumably planted for commercial purposes: the main species of trees to be found elsewhere in Adel Woods are holly, birch, oak and sycamore.

The Friends of Adel Woods in the quarry in Alwoodley Plantation, Adel Woods.
The former quarry in Alwoodley Plantation

Within Adel Woods there are many outcrops of rock and Steve took us to have a look at a former quarry within the plantation.

a bramble in Adel Woods on the30th June 2024
The flowers of one of the many brambles or blackberry plants in Adel Woods

From there we went to have a look at our very own scheduled monument within Adel Woods- a Romano-British carving of a human figure on an outcrop of rock. It is in fact the only known example of Romano-British rock carving in West Yorkshire. The figure is holding a shield and spear and it is believed, from the style of the carving, to represent the Celtic deity Cocidius, a warrior god worshipped in northern England a the time of the Romans.

Friends of Adel Woods
Inspecting the carving of Cocidius

If you look very carefully to the right of our young explorer’s head you can see a carved head, shoulder and a shield.

From there we went to look at Alwoodley or Adel Crag.

Friends of Adel Crag or Alwoodley Crag in Adel Woods, Alwoodley, Leeds. Inspiration for Henry Moore
Alwoodley Crag (also known as Adel Crag)

In a 1963 interview, the sculptor Henry Moore said that the landscapes that most influenced his work were the slag heaps of Castleford and Adel Rock (ie Adel Crag). For more information, have a look at this article on the website of the Tate Art Gallery: tate.org.uk.

From Adel Crag we walked down to the orchid or cricket meadow, home for a couple of thousand common spotted orchids – though unfortunately they were difficult to see from a distance due to the height of the grass.

Friends of Adel Woods: the orchid meadow in Adel Woods on the 30th June 2024.

Steve has led Friends of Adel Woods in doing a lot of work to preserve the meadow over the last ten years – see 12th August 2023

Common spotted orchids in Adel Woods on the 30th June 2024. Friends of Adel Woods
Common spotted orchids in the orchid or cricket meadow on the 30th June 2024

Finally, we walked down to have a look at Adel Pond, breeding ground for many frogs and palmate newts.

In the last fourteen years, each Autumn Friends of Adel Woods have dredged the pond and cleared ditches around it, initially under Steve’s leadership, and now with our new local ranger, David Preston.

Friends of Adel Woods and Adel Pond on the 30th June 2024
Steve explains the history of Adel Pond
Adel Pond on the 30th June 2024: Friends of Adel Woods
Adel Pond on 30th June 2024

ABOUT FRIENDS OF ADEL WOODS

Friends of Adel Woods were formed in 2009 to help maintain Adel Woods and encourage people to enjoy them. We meet one weekend morning a month to carry out various jobs or ”work parties”, and we also put on educational events.  We are a very friendly group and welcome new members who want to help preserve our special woods, enjoy fresh air and exercise in the woods and make new friends. If you would like to take part in our activities, just come along to one of our work parties or get in touch by leaving a comment on this website.

Our next events

Our next work party is on Saturday the 20th July 2024 when we will be litterpicking and clearing scrub and bracken from around the Buck Stone.

Our next educational event will be on Sunday the 21st July 2024 from 2 to 4 pm when Steve Joul will be leading a stream and pond Safari.

Further details are given on our homepage and will be sent out via our mailing list.

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Sunday, 9th June 2024: litter picking and working on Adel Moor

Posted on June 9, 2024 | Leave a comment
Friends of Adel Woods working on Adel Moor, Leeds, on 9th June 2024
Adel Moor on 9th June 2024 – two Friends of Adel Woods in the distance

Another lovely morning spent in Adel Woods, litter picking and working on Adel Moor with David Preston our local Parks and Countryside ranger.

We had one person litter picking today, and she gathered one and a half bags of rubbish.

Six of us worked on the moor with David, focusing on the bottom or western end.

Friends of Adel Woods working on Adel Moor on the 9th June 2024

We had a very successful morning on the moor, cutting back tree branches from around the edge of the moor to give the heather a chance to thrive, and removing saplings and seedlings – a job made much easier with the use of our own and the council’s tree poppers. For more information about the work we have been doing on Adel Moor, see our blog entry for Saturday 25th May.

Friends of Adel Woods working on Adel Moor on 9th June 2024
David Preston with four happy Friends of Adel Woods

ABOUT FRIENDS OF ADEL WOODS

Friends of Adel Woods were formed in 2009 to help maintain Adel Woods and encourage people to enjoy them. We meet one weekend morning a month to carry out various jobs or ”work parties”, and we also put on educational events.  We are a very friendly group and welcome new members who want to help preserve our special woods, enjoy fresh air and exercise in the woods and make new friends. If you would like to take part in our activities, just come along to one of our work parties or get in touch by leaving a comment on this website.

Our next events

Our next work party will be on Saturday the 20th July when we will be litterpicking and clearing scrub from around the Buck Stone. Details of the meeting place will be given on the homepage of our website shortly and via our email mailing list shortly.

Our next educational event will be on Sunday the 21st July from 2 to 4 pm, when Steve Joul, our expert naturalist, will be leading a stream and pond life safari. Again, more information will be given on our website and via our email mailing list.

Both of these events are suitable for children, provided that they are accompanied by a responsible adult.

Friends of Adel Woods and Adel Moor.
Adel Moor on 9th June 2024: bilberries in the foreground, and heather in the background.

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