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Bracket fungi, Anglers Walk, Stratford on Avon

Blushing bracket fungus, Anglers Walk, Stratford on Avon

Anglers Walk is a footpath along the Avon heading upstream from Clopton Bridge at Stratford on Avon. It’s much less well known than the paths heading downstream. Until recently, most of the path has just had an earth surface, muddy after rain. The river is one one side, but the other side was rather overgrown with scrubby vegetation.

It’s much quieter than the route downstream – pretty much limited to fishermen and locals walking their dogs or jogging. But work has now begun to upgrade the site, with the aim that it should become a local nature reserve. Paths have been surfaced throughout, some newly established. A large area which had previously been dominated by teazles and reeds has now been cleared, with a couple of ponds or scrapes excavated to form the centre for a reed bed. Work has also been done on the woodland.

These two species of bracket fungi were on the same tree, which formed part of the hedge separating the path from the wooded area.

Higher on the trunk there were several fruiting bodies from a blushing bracket, with its distinctive reddish colour. Somewhat lower were fruiting bodies of a mazegill, with an underside having spore-releasing tubes which have the supposed resemblance to a maze.