At the start of the 1880s, the rocks on which the Eddystone Lighthouse was built began to crack due to erosion by the sea. Granite was quarried for a new lighthouse at the De Lank quarry and brought to Wadebridge where stonemasons dovetailed each block to those in all directions for high strength. Once each layer was checked for a fit with the one above, it was shipped from Wadebridge and the completed 49 metre lighthouse was lit in 1882. The road where the masons worked became known as Eddystone Road, which now links Wadebridge to the Camel Trail to Padstow. The lighthouse is still in operation today.
Swans are so strongly associated with Wadebridge that one features on the town's coat-of-arms and there's an inn named The Swan. The swan nests on the islands in the river used to get flooded on spring tides, so the people of Wadebridge built them new ones, raised roughly a metre on each side of the bridge. The swans now happily nest in their less damp accommodation.
The suspension footbridge upriver of the road bridge at Wadebridge is known as either Bailey Bridge, Challenge Bridge or Anneka's Bridge. It was constructed in the early 1990s by Anneka Rice during her TV series "Challenge Anneka".
The bridge in Wadebridge dates back to mediaeval times. Distressed at the deaths occurring regularly at the river crossing, the vicar of Egloshayle planned the building of the bridge which was completed in 1468. Tolls were collected and these were used to pay for maintenance of the bridge. The bridge was widened twice from its original 3 metre width: once in Victorian times, and substantially more so in the 1960s - to accommodate motor vehicles, for which this was the main crossing of the River Camel until the bypass was built in the 1990s. The fourteen arch mediaeval bridge was known as the "Bridge on Wool". For a while, this was interpreted literally: that wool bales could have been used as part of the pier foundations, however, it has since been established that the bridge rests on bedrock. The name is more likely to be an allusion to the original source of funding for the bridge.
The area of Wadebridge along the river towards Bodmin is known as Guineaport. It is thought that the name stems from a time when the river channel was deeper and the town was a busy port. Many ships were moored along the wharfs and harbour, and the charge for mooring a ship at the port was one Guinea.
The settlement at Wadebridge dates back at least to early Mediaeval times with a licence for a market being recorded in 1312. Originally there was no bridge and thus the settlement was called "Wade" (as this is what you had to do when crossing the ford). This far down the River Camel, numerous tributaries had emptied into the river so the crossing was quite perilous. Chapels were situated either side of the river to pray for a safe crossing, and give thanks should the other side be successfully reached. The death toll, both in human lives and livestock, was the motivation for the building of the bridge.
During the 20th Century, much of the salt marsh along the River Camel, which supports diverse bird life, was drained for agricultural land. In 2001, the Gaia Trust acquired the meadow below Treraven Farm in Wadebridge and together with Cornwall Council, embarked in the Camel Valley Wetland Restoration Project. Treraven Marshes were re-flooded in 2007 and a long list of bird species, new to the site, have been recorded since. Cornwall Wildlife Trust have designated the marshes the first new County Wildlife Site in 20 years. There is a bird hide next to the Camel Trail overlooking the marshes.
Egloshayle was once a small self-contained settlement, based around the church on the opposite side of the river.
Egloshayle is now an area within the Wadebridge conurbation but was once a distinct settlement. The name Egloshayle is from the Cornish words eglos (meaning church) and heyl (meaning estuary) and is pronounced to reflect this ("eglos-hale" not "eglo-shale"). It was originally a Bronze Age settlement and later a river port, rivalling Padstow. The river trade is reported to include tin, clay, wool, and vegetable crops. The wool component of the trade may well be the origin of the name "Bridge on Wool" given to the bridge at Wadebridge.
From December until the spring, celandine leaves are quite noticeable along the edge of paths. They have a shape similar to a "spade" in a pack of cards and are patterned with lighter green or silvery markings.
Plants contain chlorophyll (the green stuff) which is able to use energy from sunlight to break down a water molecule. The breakdown of water is why plants release oxygen. Some photosynthetic bacteria break down hydrogen sulphide instead of water.
The electrons and protons remaining from the water after oxygen has been formed are funnelled away by bio-molecules in the plant. These are used to drive another chemical reaction to convert a bunch of carbon dioxide and water molecules into a simple sugar molecule such as glucose.
Sugar is effectively a store of energy, and the reaction can be run in reverse to generate energy when needed. At night, when there is no sunlight, plants run off their sugar reserves, consume oxygen and emit carbon dioxide - just like we do.
There quite a few different simple sugars - fructose, maltose etc - but they all have the same chemical formula as glucose (they just have their bits arranged in different orders). Simple sugars are polymerised (chained together) into sucrose (glucose attached to fructose) for medium-term storage and also starches (mega-long sugar chains) for longer-term storage in a root or seed. Sugars are also used to create cellulose - the building material used by plants.
Treraven Farm, whose land adjoins the River Camel upriver from Wadebridge and the Camel Trail, was acquired by the Gaia Trust in 1999. A community forest has been planted, adjoining the oak woodland of Treraven Wood along the Camel Trail, and permissive paths have been created through the woodland that connect to the public bridleway.
The settlement of Treraven dates back to the Middle Ages. It is first recorded in 1208 when it is spelt "Treruvin".
Blackthorn and hawthorn trees both grow in similar places but in each season there are different ways to tell them apart.
In spring, blackthorn is one of the first trees to flower. The white blossom appears before the leaves in April. In warm weather, the leaves may quickly catch up and this is when it can get mistaken for hawthorn, which produces leaves before flowers. However, there are a few other ways to distinguish the flowers: blackthorn pollen is orange whereas hawthorn is pink, fading to black. Hawthorn petals overlap each other whereas blackthorn is more "gappy".
In summer, the leaf shape can be used to tell them apart. Blackthorn leaves are a classic leaf shape with slightly serrated edges. Hawthorn leaves have deep notches dividing the leaf into several lobes a bit like oak.
In autumn, pretty much all hawthorn trees have small red berries, even the windswept specimens on the coast. Blackthorn trees may have purple sloes, but not all the trees fruit each year. Some years seem to result in a lot more sloes than others.
Hawthorn trees are often a little bigger than blackthorn, especially in harsh environments such as on the coast. Blackthorn tends to form thickets whereas hawthorn are typically distinct trees. Hawthorn bark is usually shiny whereas blackthorn is dull. The thorns on hawthorn tend to be shorter (less then 2cm) and point slightly forwards on the stem. Blackthorn has longer spikes that stick out at right angles.
The Gaia Trust is a small Cornish charity established in 1988, dedicated to preserving biodiversity and providing public access to nature, and have won a number of National awards for their work. Their farms and nature reserves are all open to the public, and they run a range of events for the public at their farms.
Crows are omnivores and their ability to eat anything from animal feed to potato chips has allowed them to capitalise on food sources created by humans. Their problem-solving skills also allow them to access food that less savvy animals cannot, for example tugging on bin liners and tucking each fold under their feet to raise the contents of waste bins in motorway service stations.
Blackberries are high in vitamin C, K and antioxidants. The seeds, despite being a bit crunchy, contain omega-3 and -6 fatty acids and further enhance blackberries' "superfood" status.
As well as producing seeds both sexually and asexually, brambles can also clone themselves to create daughter plants either via underground stems (rhizomes) or by the over-ground stems rooting where they meet the ground.
Dandelion and burdock was originally an alcoholic drink made from the roots of dandelion and burdock plants. In the Middle Ages the roots were fermented to create a light mead. During Victorian times, the non-alcoholic soft drink version was made as a result of the Methodist Temperance movement.
The trees along the right-hand side of the track get the sun from the south.
Since the multi-lobed leaves are found in shade, whist the teardrop leaves are found in sun, this allows the leaves of ivy plants growing up trees to be used as a compass. Unless something is in the way then the sunniest side of a tree is to the south and the shadiest is to the north.
Handling primroses is best avoided as the hairs on the leaves and stems can cause contact dermatitis which is quite severe in some people. It is thought that some people may develop a tolerance with repeated exposure but nevertheless a study in a medical journal found that over a quarter of Primula growers experienced skin reactions.
Blackbirds can be found in deciduous woodland, particularly where there is dense undergrowth. In the man-made landscape, hedges provide plenty of dense undergrowth and have consequently become a really important habitat for blackbirds. Moreover, many gardens have such a high density of hedges and bushes that they are able to support ten times the blackbird population versus an equivalent area of their natural woodland habitat.
After A and B roads, the next smallest in Cornwall (by level of traffic) are C roads and then finally the U roads (often small lanes). Both are normally the same minor road colour on OS maps but the C roads are normally drawn with fatter lines. C and U roads are numbered by each council so Cornwall has its own set of numbers. They are not unique nationally, only locally, so the road number for each of these will be the same as several totally unrelated roads in other parts of Britain. The other quirky thing particularly with U roads is that several small lanes in the same area will often be given the same number. Consequently the C and U numbers are not printed on signs to avoid totally confusing motorists.
The place names "Burlawn", "Burlorn" Tregoose, Lower "Burlone" and "Bozion" Farm are all various failed attempts to write down the Cornish name Boslowen (which transliterates from Cornish as "happy dwelling"). The surreal-sounding "Burlone Pillow" was originally Boslowen Polbrogh (as it lay between Boslowen and Polbrough).
The main route from Padstow to Bodmin was once near here across the Hustyn Downs. It's likely this is the way that the monks would have fled from the Lanwethinoc monastery at Padstow as it was sacked by the Vikings, carrying the relics of St Petroc to Bodmin.
Daffodils were originally called asphodels (lumped together with the other plants that are now called asphodels). A pronunciation variation was "affodell". No-one is quite sure how the initial "d" was added - perhaps "the asphodel" by someone with a cold ("d affodel").
The natural diet of tits includes seeds and nuts so garden feeders and bird tables are often frequented by members of the tit family. During warmer months they also eat insects, particularly caterpillars. Each blue tit chick is fed around 100 caterpillars per day, much to the delight of gardeners.
The Ramblers Association and National Farmers Union suggest some "dos and don'ts" for walkers which we've collated with some info from the local Countryside Access Team.
Do
Don't
In spring there are spectacular displays of bluebells, particularly in the area to your left as you reach the top of a steep bank.
During periods of cold weather, spring flowers, such as bluebells, have already started the process of growth by preparing leaves and flowers in underground bulbs during summer and autumn. They are then able to grow in the cold of winter, or early spring, by using these resources stored in their bulb. Once they have flowered, the leaves die off and the cycle begins again.
Other species (such as cow parsley or dandelions) require warm weather before they are able to germinate and grow. With the warmer springs induced by climate change, bluebells lose their "early start" advantage, and can be out-competed.
Most of a large tree's trunk is actually made of dead wood known as "heartwood". Only the outer layers (known as sapwood) are actually active. The sapwood transport water and minerals up the tree from the roots to the leaves. The sapwood next to the heartwood gradually fills up with resin and then dies to create another strong layer of heartwood which supports the increasing weight of the tree.
There are several species of Woodrush in the UK that all look fairly similar. They are most noticeable in woodland where they often form dense mats - hence the name.
Woodrush has green pointed leaves which can be mistaken for bluebell leaves when there are no flowers to provide an obvious difference (woodrush flowers are unexciting small brown things that look a bit like grass seed). To tell the leaves apart, woodrush leaves taper steadily to a sharp point whereas bluebell leaves are relatively straight for most of their length and only taper near the end (like a broadsword). Bluebell leaves are also slightly blue-green whereas woodrush is a glossy vibrant green.
Robins are also able to see magnetic fields. Receptors in their eyes make magnetic fields appear as patterns of light or colour which allows them to use the Earth's magnetic field for navigation. They only seem to use their right eye for this as the left half of their brain (linked to the right eye) does the processing.
Hustyn mill is known to have been operating in the 19th Century and was used to grind corn. A mill pond located not far below the double footbridges fed a leat which ran parallel to the footpath to bring water to the mill.
Conifers can produce an economic yield of timber up to 6 times faster than broadleaf trees. Imported species such as Douglas Fir and Sitka Spruce are amongst the more common used for timber production.
The scent of conifer trees mostly comes from volatile organic compounds known as terpenes. Two of the most well-known are limonene (which as its name suggest has a citrus scent) and pinene which advertisers describe as "pine fresh". In fact there are 2 versions of the pinene molecule with the same chemical formula but with a hydrogen atom in a slightly different place. The "alpha" version smells slightly more of pine and is soluble in alcohol and slightly in water. The "beta" version smells more of turpentine and is only soluble in hydrocarbon solvents (e.g. white spirit) so for both reasons is less useful for scented cleaning products and air fresheners than the alpha form.
The River Camel runs for 30 miles from Bodmin Moor to Padstow Bay, making it the longest river in Cornwall after the Tamar.
The River Camel is classed as a SSSI and Special Area of Conservation (SAC) under the EC Habitats Directive. The river is a breeding ground for otters, Atlantic salmon and bullhead (a small fish that looks a bit like a blenny but is more closely related to lionfish and scorpionfish).
Polbrock is a small settlement on the River Camel, upstream of Wadebridge. Polbrock is an anglicised version of the Cornish name Polbrough which transliterates to "Badger's pool". It's likely the nearby hamlet of "Brockton" was an Anglo-Saxon rebranding of an original Cornish place-name, possibly something like Trebrough which would be along the lines of "Badger Farm".
Badgers are most closely related to otters and weasels, but are omnivores and often catch their food by burrowing after it. Up until the 1950s, somewhat prior to the Gastro-pub revolution, many Westcountry pubs had Badger Ham on the bar!
Due to their relatively large body size, badgers are susceptible to the same pathogens as domestic livestock, and so badgers and cattle can catch tuberculosis from each other. In recent years, there has been controversy over badger culling as an attempted means to control the spread of bovine TB. The conclusions of the scientific trials of 2007 were that badger culling was not effective. One reason is that culling creates vacant territories and causes other badgers to roam more widely, continuing a spread. In 2010, a TB vaccine was produced which is hoped will prove more effective than culling, as a band of vaccinated badgers will act like a firewall, blocking a spread.
The Camel Trail is a recreational walking and cycling track along the track bed of an old railway running from Wenfordbridge to Padstow. The railway, where the Camel Trail now runs, was originally built in 1831 by local landowner, Sir William Molesworth of Pencarrow. The line from Wadebridge to Wenfordbridge, with a branch to Bodmin, was intended to carry sand from the Camel estuary to inland farms for use as fertiliser. Later, the railway was used to ship slate and china clay from inland quarries to ships in Padstow and also transport fish, landed in Padstow, to London and other cities. The last passenger train was in 1967 and freight finally ceased in 1983, when a need to invest in new track forced closure of the line.
The well-signposted John Betjamen Centre is sited in the main building of the old railway station.
The John Betjeman Centre is sited in the main building of the old railway station at Wadebridge.
Betjeman spent the last years of his life in Trebetherick and died there in 1984; his grave is at St Enodoc Church. After his death, a group of local friends and enthusiasts launched an appeal to restore the derelict station building as a memorial to him. There is a memorabilia room dedicated to Sir John, displaying a variety of his personal effects, academic honours and furniture.
The Poet Laureate had a lifelong love of North Cornwall ever since his first holiday in Trebetherick as a young boy.On Wadebridge station what a breath of sea
Scented the Camel valley Cornish air,
Soft Cornish rains, and silence after steam
As out of Derry's stable came the brake
To drag us up those long familiar hills,
Past haunted woods and oil lit farms and on
To far Trebetherick by the sounding sea.
Trevanion Culverhouse is just under half a mile along the lane from the co-op car park. If you wish to have a look before finishing the walk (or drive there for a quick look afterwards), follow the road from here to the roundabout by the cinema then turn left onto Trevanion Road. Follow this until you reach The Culvery and turn left into this. Follow The Culvery to the far end with a junction to the right - the culverhouse is at the end of that.
Trevanion Culverhouse is a dovecote built in the 13-14th Century to supply nearby Trevanion Manor with pigeon meat and eggs. It is now maintained by the Cornwall Heritage Trust. The circular shape was so that a ladder could be attached to a revolving pole in the centre to reach the nest boxes high in the walls (as the birds prefer to nest high up, out of the reach of predators such as foxes).
More information about the Culverhouse from the Cornwall Heritage Trust.
Compared to many native trees, the beech colonised Great Britain relatively recently, after the last Ice Age around 10,000 years ago. Beech trees have a shallow root system and are therefore often found in areas where water is plentiful such as near rivers. In the 17th and 18th Centuries, tall, stately beech trees were very fashionable in the estates of wealthy landowners and many mature beech woodlands today are the result of 18th Century parkland landscaping projects.
Beech trees can live up to 400 years but the normal range is 150-250 years. Beech trees respond well to pruning and the lifetime of the tree is extended when the tree is pollarded. This was once a common practice and involves cutting all the stems back to a height of about 6ft during the winter when the tree is dormant. The 6ft starting point kept the fresh new growth out of the range of grazing animals. When allowed to grow to full size, a beech tree can reach 80ft tall with a trunk diameter of around 3ft.
The word "beech" is thought to have the same origins as "book" as beech (most probably the bark) was used as a writing material in which to carve runes by Germanic societies before the development of paper. This is still apparent in modern German where the word for "book" is buch and "beech tree" is buche.
The fruit of the beech tree is known as "mast" or, less cryptically, "beechnuts" and these are not produced until the tree is 40-60 years old. The small triangular nuts are encased in spiky husks which split and drop from the trees from late August to early October. The kernels of these are edible and are similar to hazelnuts. They were once used as a source of flour, which was ground after the tannins had been leached out by soaking them in water. If you find them too bitter, you might want to try this trick, although toasting them in a hot pan is also a good option.
Young beech leaves can be used as a salad vegetable, which are described as being similar to a mild cabbage, though much softer in texture. Older leaves are a bit chewy, as you'd expect.
Beech bark is very delicate and does not heal easily. Consequently some graffiti carved in beech trees is still present from more than a century ago. This is a practice that should be strongly discouraged as it permanently weakens the tree, making attack by insects more likely which can prematurely end its life.
Beechwood ageing is used in the production of Budweiser beer but beech is not the source of flavour. In fact beechwood has a fairly neutral flavour and in the brewing process it is pretreated with baking soda to remove even this. The relatively inert strips of wood are then added to the fermentation vessel where they increase the surface area available for yeast. It is the contact with yeast that produces the flavour in the beer, not the beech itself.
Beechnuts can be used very effectively as a thrifty alternative to pine kernels to make pesto. Collect one trouser pocketful of beechnuts. Shell them over a large cup of tea with a friend, toast the kernels over a medium heat in a dry pan, then grind with a pestle and mortar (surprisingly easy once toasted). Chop 4 sprigs of basil each about the size of your hand - roughly half a supermarket pack. Add to this a finely chopped small clove of garlic and a good pinch of salt and freshly ground black pepper. Then shave (with a peeler) or grate a lump about the size of the end of your thumb of some hard salty cheese such as Pecorino or Parmesan (a supermarket basic range imitation will do fine). Finally add a good slug of extra virgin olive oil and it's time to say "proper job". It makes a ramekin full which doesn't seem a lot but it is so packed with flavour that it goes a surprisingly long way.
Like its domesticated relatives, wild garlic grows from a bulb. To distinguish it from other wild plants from the onion/garlic family (such as the three-cornered leek), the species sometimes just called "wild garlic" (Allium ursinum) is often known by the name ramsons or broad-leaf garlic. The scientific name (meaning bear leek) is because the bulbs are thought to be a favourite food of brown bears on the European mainland.
Unlike their more versatile narrow-leaved cousins the three-cornered leeks, ramsons grow mainly in shady places such as woodland. Their broad leaves are solar panels that have evolved to capture the weak winter light early in the year before the trees are in leaf. They are an indicator that woodland is ancient and has provided a shady environment over a long period to colonise.
Despite the pungent smell, the leaves of wild garlic are quite delicate in flavour so can be used quite large quantities in cooking or more sparingly within salads. They are at their most fiery early in the season. As well as a garlic flavour, the leaves have a slight (though not excessive) bitter note which can be balanced against sweet flavours (e.g. tomato or roasted pepper) or salty flavours like bacon to cut through a rich sauce.
Wild garlic is best harvested in early spring before it flowers and the leaves start to die off. Unlike domestic garlic, the leaves are generally used rather than the bulb, which is very small. Note that there are some lilies that look very similar and are poisonous! If it doesn't smell strongly of garlic/onions, then it's not wild garlic and should be avoided. A schoolboy error is to rub the leaves between fingers where the smell lingers so a subsequent poisonous lily leaf could be misidentified.
Wild garlic can be preserved as a frozen paste for use as a cooking ingredient throughout the year. Simply whizz up roughly chopped leaves in a food processor with enough olive oil to make a fairly thick paste and then freeze this in an ice cube tray (or slightly larger silicone moulds if you have them). Standard cooking olive oil will do for this (it's a waste to use extra-virgin as the powerful garlic will mask its flavour). Turn out the frozen blocks into a bag and keep in the freezer. They can then be used as garlic "stock cubes", added just before the end of cooking.
Wild garlic has been found in settlements dating as far back as the neolithic period which given its springtime abundance and aroma is not that surprising. Its culinary use was eventually overtaken by domesticated garlic which first arrived with Mediterranean traders and had the advantage that the bulbs could be stored for relatively long periods.
If cows eat wild garlic, this flavours their milk. Whilst this is definitely not what's wanted for tea or cornflakes, the butter made from it is more useful. This means of producing garlic butter became popular in Switzerland in the 19th Century.
All plants in the onion family are poisonous to dogs including wild garlic. This is one of the reasons that feeding dogs human foods (many of which contain onion such as gravy powder) is not good for them. Garlic is extremely toxic to dogs and cats and the consumption of even a small amount can lead to severe poisoning. Keep dogs away from wild garlic and wash their paws if they come into contact with it.
You can make impressively green pasta with wild garlic and the garlic flavour goes well with most pasta sauces. Whizz up some wild garlic leaves with olive oil to make a thick paste (or retrieve some of this from the freezer and zap in the microwave to defrost). Whisk an egg and add roughly the same amount of your wild garlic paste as the egg. Now keep adding plain flour until you reach a stiff dough (stiffer than bread dough). Roll out fairly (but not excessively) thin keeping it coated with plenty of flour to stop it sticking. Roll it up into a Swiss roll and then cut at 1cm intervals with a sharp knife. Unroll all the strips into a floured surface first and then quickly drop them into boiling water. It will be done in just a minute or 2 (as soon as it floats) so get the strips in at the same time and have your pasta sauce made and ready to go before you cook the pasta.
In a small food processor, whizz approx 20g of Italian-style hard cheese (Parmesan or Pecorino). Optionally whizz in about the same amount of any toasted nuts (nice but not vital). Next whizz in 50g of wild garlic leaves. You can also add 10g lemon balm leaves if you have it growing in your garden. Add zest of a lemon, juice of half the lemon and whizz in a couple of glugs of olive oil to the desired consistency. Finally whizz in salt and pepper to taste.
Make your own super-quick fresh pasta with 200g plain flour, 4g salt, 1 egg and enough water to form a smooth dough. Use a good dusting of flour and roll out thin. Dust again, roll up into a Swiss roll and cut across at 1cm intervals to form spirals. Unravel each and drop the squiggles into boiling water. Done when it floats (about 2 min).
You may remember from school geography lessons that the faster-flowing water around the outside of the bend causes a meander in a river to slowly grow as the outside edge is eroded and sediment is deposited on the inside by slower-moving water. At this point, your school geography teacher probably got excited about ox-bow lakes and never got around to explaining exactly why the water flows faster on the outside in the first place. So that you don't go to your grave feeling short-changed, an attempt at an explanation follows...
Flowing water piles into the outside of the bend and creates a higher pressure there. Close to the riverbed, water is moving very slowly so the high pressure pushes water across the bottom from the outside to the inside. This drags the faster-moving water across the top of the river to the outside to take its place. This spiralling current both erodes the outside edge with faster-moving water and also transports the sediment back across the bottom to the inside
Clotted-cream fudge is traditional in Devon and Cornwall but this is a relatively recent tradition. Fudge is thought to have first been made in the USA during Victorian times when a recipe for caramel went wrong hence "fudge" is also used to mean "to not do correctly". The basis of fudge is sugar, butter and milk but in the Westcountry, clotted cream is used in place of butter and milk, resulting in a basic recipe of just 2 ingredients.
The traditional flavouring is vanilla, which itself is also clue to the period from which the recipes originate. It wasn't until Victorian times that a hand pollination technique was discovered for the vanilla orchid by a 12-year-old slave in the French colonies. This allowed commercial vanilla production to take place outside of Mexico and this made vanilla much more affordable. The pollination technique discovered by the young boy is still the basis of commercial production today.
By the end of the First World War, Britain had only 5% of its original forest cover left. The Forestry Commission was founded in 1919 to address the timber shortage and bought large amounts of agricultural land, becoming the largest landowner in Britain. As part of the 1968 Countryside Act, the public have been allowed to use many parts of the forestry estate for recreation. Now known as Forestry England, it still plays a key role in woodland creation as part of the government's strategy to increase Britain's tree cover to 12% by 2060.
Moorhens are water birds which is the basis of names including "waterhen" and the more entertaining "swamp chicken". The name mor-hen was recorded in the 13th Century and is from an old word for marsh that also gave rise to "mire", rather than simply "moorland".
Moorhens are close relatives to coots but have red-and-yellow beaks rather than white. Like coots, they are aggressive in the breeding season. Unlike coots, they are not aggressive the rest of the time too! The older moorhen chicks will even help their parents to raise the young ones. Moorhens also spend more time out of the water than coots and will even climb trees.
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