The snakeshead fritillary display at Cricklade

Last week I met up with Camilla soon after she had returned from the ancient town of Cricklade in the neighbouring county of Wiltshire. (Actually it is only just over the border and is probably only fifteen miles away from Stroud).  She was extolling the wonders of the famous display of the massed snakeshead fritillary (fritillaria meleagris) flowers which she had just visited.  These beautiful little bell like flowers are redolent of springtime to me. They are situated on the ancient North Meadow of Cricklade, once a Saxon village, which is now next to the town centre and beside the quite small river Thames which has flowed only a few miles from its source at this point.

This meadow has been managed as Lammas land for hundreds of years, whereby the Lord of the Manor divides the meadow into parcels of land referred to as 'lots'.  The boundary stone markers for these lots are still visible today.  He then sells the rights to the hay crop to local farmers and these owners of the freehold are responsible for harvesting the hay in each lot.

Now the meadow is protected as a Special Area of Conservation (SAC) and a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and around 80% of Britain's snakeshead fritillaries grow there.  The flower is named after the shape of the flower bud before it opens and the snakeskin pattern on its petals.  Once there were many similar meadows along the upper Thames basin but very few remain today, most having been destroyed by modern agriculture and gravel extraction.

Looking across the meadow for about a mile we could see a swathe of these little purple flowers bending in the strong wind despite the beautifully clear blue sky.  It was a glorious day but tricky to photograph them as they hang low to the ground and we were only allowed on a narrow path which circles the meadows.

We had brought a picnic to have at the nearby Cotswold Water Park, which have been established on the many lakes formed by the gravel extraction.  We discovered a picnic area in a quiet zone where we could lie on the grass at the edge of the lake.  It was lovely to laze about in the warm sun and feast of goodies which Helena had prepared.  A really good way to relax at the weekend.