Granny Lichenleaf - one of the magical characters you could meet at Wood, Fire and Water at Kinneil Estate. Image courtesy Rowanbank


We now have some more news about the IFLI mini-festival coming up this June. As we mentioned last time, the festival is a chance for us to celebrate what IFLI has achieved over the past four years, as we enter the final few months of the Initiative. We hope our programme of FREE family events, which are taking place in all four local authority areas where we have worked, will offer something for everyone. Whether you're interested in history or wildlife, trying out new skills, taking tea with old friends, or just having fun, there is an event for you. Do please join us, and come and say hello.

Lots going on at Higgins Neuk  Image Kate Fuller/IFLI

In early May archaeologists from the SCAPE Trust returned with a team of keen historians and volunteers to continue investigating the possible site of a medieval Royal dockyard near Airth - with exciting results!

The project is part of the Inner Forth Landscape Initiative, which SCAPE researcher Elinor Graham has been running for the past three years, with the IFLI team; John Reid, a local historian who’s been researching the site for 30 years; Richard Tipping, a geographer from Stirling University and Geoff Bailey, the Falkirk Council archaeologist. SCAPE also worked with volunteers from the local community, who have been fantastic and done a huge amount of work. Over four seasons of investigation, over 50 volunteers joined in, many of whom have come back over and over again to the site to use different techniques (coring, geophysics, metal detecting, drone surveys, and archaeological excavation)  to investigate the site.
 
SCAPE's aim was to investigate the history and archaeology of the site of Higgins Neuk and see if they could find the lost dockyard of James 4^th – built in the early 1500s for fitting out and maintaining the ships of his Royal Navy during has wars with Henry 8th, which John's research had suggested was here. The flagship of his Navy - the Great Michael - was allegedly the biggest ship in Europe when she was launched in 1511, and was at this site several times for repairs and maintenance. The second ship of the Navy, the Margaret, was about the size of Henry 8th's famous ship the Mary Rose and both of them, along with other ships, were at these docks before setting off to the Battle of Flodden in 1513. They also knew that there were mills on the site from the 17^th century and a ferry which crossed the Forth from there to Kincardine.

 

Over the last three years a number of digs discovered evidence of the mill, and of old sea walls and a possible jetty. You can find out more by looking at the SCAPE blog at  (https://scharpblog.wordpress.com/2017/11/27/uncovering-the-hidden-heritage-of-higgins-neuk/ and https://scharpblog.wordpress.com/2016/11/30/a-medieval-royal-dockyard-at-the-clackmannanshire-bridge/) This year the dig uncovered more exciting finds, including the foundations of the mill building next to the channel, the old millstone reused as part of a paved surface, another mill building, and a lovely corn-drying kiln where grain was dried out before being ground in the mill. They also uncovered the posts of the old wooden pier which was used by the ferry across the Forth.

Most excitingly, they found the edge of the old channel which at its bottom has waterlogged layers which were full of pieces of wood offcuts, which were preserved by the wet conditions. Someone was doing a lot of wood working – maybe boat-building? – here. Although it’s impossible to say for now whether this dates to the right period for James’ docks, SCAPE has submitted samples of the wood for radiocarbon dating. They also had a coin from the stone pier, which will need to be looked at by experts but which might give us a date for its construction too. They also learned through the archaeology that the saltmarsh there has developed in the past couple of hundred years. When that sea wall was built it would’ve been like a quay, filling and emptying with the tides. In your imagination you have to erase the stretches of reeds and mudflats that you can see now - so when James was building the Great Michael and the Margaret the landscape here would’ve looked very different.

 

Commenting on the dig, Elinor Graham siad: 'We’ve all had a great time, and the volunteers have made a fantastic contribution to uncovering the site’s history. I’d like to say a huge thank you to them. We’ve learned a lot –and although John is slightly disappointed that we haven’t definitively proved that the docks are here, he’s pleased with the discoveries we’ve made about the mills, the ferry, and the intriguing evidence that there might be evidence of boat-building here

 

'This is a great piece of local history with its connections to the rest of the area, and it really represents the activity that was going on around the Forth – just how important the river was for producing food, harnessing the waterpower for powering mills, and using it for transport and communication. The sea wall and pier are lovely structures and major pieces of engineering – that sea wall especially is a major piece of infrastructure that someone invested a huge amount in. It took a lot of time, money and effort to build – does that indicate that the Crown was involved and driving the construction? If this is the site of the dockyards it’s of international significance. This is where Scotland’s Navy was based during the wars with Henry 8^th, where they set off from to the Battle of Flodden, which was a turning point in British history. If you'd like to see the archaeologists in action, the Falkirk Herald has a great video on their website. You can find it at:
https://www.falkirkherald.co.uk/news/environment/airth-archaeological-dig-sheds-more-light-on-royal-dockyards-connection-1-4740727

 

 

Although our Forth Nature Counts project has now formally come to an end there's still loads of wildlife out there in the Inner Forth that needs our attention and support!  The aim of the project was to encourage more people to identify and record the species around them, as this kind of information is vital to help conservation scientists understand how our wildlife is faring, and what helps, or hinders, its survival.

So if you are out and about this June please take a minute to see if you can spot any of the three species listed above - skylark, red-tailed bumblebee or small blue butterfly. And if you do see them could you record your sightings on our dedicated Inner Forth Sightings form at https://www.brc.ac.uk/irecord/enter-inner-forth-records . It only takes five minutes and really makes a difference!

 

Image courtesy CFSS
 

 

Hoverfly by Robert Trevis-Smith/IFLI

If you'd like to get into bug ID Buglife are running two free workshops this July.
 

17 July 2018

A FREE workshop on an introduction to pollinating insects.

Pollinators are vital in the production of many of our fruits including apples and strawberries, many of them are also visually very attractive. There are over 4,000 species of pollinating insects in the UK and this includes bees, flies, butterflies, moths and beetles! This free workshop is an opportunity to learn more about the diversity of pollinators, identification of some of the commonly seen species and how to survey and monitor them.

This event will include both indoor and outdoor activities. Please bring along your lunch, sturdy footwear and warm clothes. If you have a hand lens or any insect guides please feel free to bring them along on the day.

 24 July 2018

A FREE Workshop on an introduction to hoverflies and their identification.

There are over 280 species of hoverfly in the UK and many of them are excellent mimics of bumblebees, honey bees and wasps.  Adult hoverflies are important pollinators and the larvae of several species are controllers of aphids and other pest species.

This free workshop is an opportunity to learn more about the diversity of hoverflies, identification of some of the commonly seen species and how to survey and monitor them.
This event will include both indoor and outdoor activities. Please bring along your lunch, sturdy footwear and warm clothes. If you have a hand lens or any insect guides please feel free to bring them along on the day.

Both events will run 10am-3.00pm at Scottish Wildlife Trust Jupiter Urban Wildlife Centre, 3 Wood Street, Grangemouth, FK3 8LH.

For more information and to book onto either event (as spaces are limited) please contact Suzanne Burgess on 01786 447540 and suzanne.burgess@buglife.org.uk