Quantock Memorial Walk

Images Courtesy of Ian Shaw

Children and adults of all ages gathered under the big walnut tree at Hockpitt Farm to start the third Crispin Aubrey Legacy Fund (CALF) Memorial Walk. We all braved the rain to ramble into the Quantocks. We walked along watery lane before heading up hill to Walfords' Gibbet. 

We looked out on the beautiful north Somerset coast line and learnt from local marine ecologist Nigel Phillips about the wide variety of fish and crustaceans that live along our local coastline from Bridgwater Bay to the shores of Pollock Weir. As well as hearing about the impact Hinkley Point power station has on fish stocks. The use of sea water to cool the reactors results in the death of millions of live fish, as well as fish eggs annually. 

We continued up towards Dead Woman’s Ditch before following the path down hill again to explore ‘frost cracks’ in the indigenous oak forest with Louis Pearson who taught us that they are the perfect habitat for bats and learnt that the Quantocks are home to 8 species of bat. We used a specially designed video camera to search for bats and discovered a family of woodlice! 

We followed the treeline back down the hill where Crispin’s grandchildren, who had clearly put a lot of effort into their presentation, delivered an amazing speech about fair trade and the importance of preserving our forests. Please remember to look for the Fair Trade symbol and Rainforest alliance logo when shopping. 
Finally we braved the downpour to return to Hockpitt Farm and heard from Toby Cann and Lauren Wilce about deep ecology and our interconnectedness to the environment that surrounds us.

By Kate and Jonah Aubrey-Johnson