Acorn Bank is a National Trust property that's been on my heritage hit-list for a long time. It's one of those interesting sites that lies in the heart of the beautiful Cumbrian countryside, but is shrouded by a fascinating industrial past. I've wanted to go since I arrived in Cumbria last September, but it's only now that I've had the chance. Needless to say I was very excited!
On arrival we were greeted by a very friendly guide at a charming little caravan. They gave us a brief history of the site before pointing out some of the key spaces – including the cafe. Naturally we had to check that out first. It wasn't yet lunchtime, so we restrained ourselves with just tea and cake whilst my mum and I looked through some fungi guides to try and ID the species I'd spotted on campus.
Once we were full of cake we headed off on our first walk of the day. Mum collected a trail from the guide at the front to help her focus. It's really great that so many National Trust properties have trails and guides like this – it just makes these sites so much more accessible. Whilst heading through the gardens to reach the footpath we spotted a young blackbird prowling through the bushes before he disappeared in a flurry of leaves and feathers.
Our first real stop on the walk was at the mill. This gorgeous little building was definitely the focal point of conservation on the site; an enormous amount of money has been spent on partially restoring the buildings, and they're hoping to raise more money to complete the work. Considering how much history the mill had I was dead impressed with how they'd managed to consolidate it in a small exhibition and display. As I was having a look, I heard an enormous chatter from the room next door. When I went to investigate I was delighted to find a little swallow staring right back at me! He hung around for a few minutes before being on his way.
We headed along the river to continue our missions of seeing as many fungi as possible (me) and to complete the fairy houses trail (mum). I didn't expect to enjoy the fairy houses as much as I did, but clearly someone had put a lot of work and creativity into them, masterfully using the natural materials of the woods to hide their creations. This was definitely my favourite!
We stopped by the bird feeders on our way for lunch where we saw a variety of woodland species feasting on the remains of the feeders including great tit, blue tit and coal tit. Who knows what other species we might have seen if the feeders had been full!
After a delicious lunch of soup and bread we took some time to take in the beautiful gardens. The variety of flowers and plants there had attracted a multitude of bees and butterflies. This surprised me as I thought we'd well and truly passed through the invertebrate season (it certainly felt like it in the Midlands) but evidently I was incorrect. A spotted flycatcher was enjoying the plethora of insects and we watched it hunt for a good five minutes – that was the first time I've ever seen an individual of this species so I was thrilled!
We then made our way down to the bird feeders and hide at the far corner of the site. We passed by the oldest tree at Acorn Bank – a magnificent oak – and copped some fantastic views of Saddleback. At the hide I was a little disappointed at the number of birds that we saw – more great and blue tits, with an additional chaffinch. Clearly there was a lot of life in the near vicinity as the trees were full of song. Another reminder for me to get better at identifying birdsong. Again, it would have been nice if the bird feeders had actually been full.
The mine was next on our list of things to look at, but there wasn't a great deal to see – perhaps that's something they'll expand on further. Dad decided that he'd like to take a closer look at the house whilst mum and I went on another walk to locate the last of the fairy houses. We saw some brilliant fungus, including some fantastic turkey tail, as well as a grey wagtail by the river.
Once we were satisfied that we'd seen all the houses we headed into the gardens and orchards to complete our invertebrates tick-list. Amazingly, we spotted all but one of the butterflies they expected us to see and we saw all of the bees! The invertebrate biodiversity was just incredibly, and was one of the most enjoyable experiences of the trip. We poked our heads in the house but there wasn't a great deal there – another great source of potential for this site.
All in all I think it's safe to say that we all had a really lovely time at Acorn Bank! It's a beautiful little site, and when we went it was very quiet which certainly enhanced our enjoyment of the site. The biodiversity of the little things was amazing and the fairy houses trail was an additional bonus. Some areas could clearly be enhanced but the staff are aware of this and are working towards making this a reality. I'd definitely recommend a visit to this site, and I'm sure I'll be back at some point over the next couple of years to see how things are shaping up!
Species List
7-spot ladybird
Ash
Barn Swallow
Beech
Blackbird
Blue Tit
Buff Tailed Bumblebee
Buzzard
Carrion Crow
Chaffinch
Coal Tit
Common Carder Bee
Field Maple
Garden Bumblebee
Great Tit
Green Veined Butterfly
Grey Wagtail
Holly
Holly Leaf Miner
Honey Bee
Hoverfly (sp.)
Large White Butterfly
Many-zoned polypore
Mazegill
Oak (sp.)
Peacock Butterfly
Plums and custard (fungus)
Red Admiral
Rowan
Speckled Wood
Spotted Flycatcher
Sulfur tuft
Tortoise Shell (sp.)
Turkey tail
White Tailed Bumblebee
Woodpigeon
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