Aston Clinton Ragpits

[Eric Locke]

I often feel that most of us sometimes forget to visit our own natural reserves and protected areas in favour of the more "well known gardens"
One such reserve near to my home are the Aston Clinton Ragpits which is managed by the Berks Bucks and Oxfordshire Naturalist trust.
This small reserve is home to some 30,000 + orchids and is a wonderfull place to visit at this time of year.
Annual count of the fragrant orchid (Gymnadenia conopsea) usually passes 14,000 with also large numbers of Pyramid orchids (Anacamptis Pyramidalis)  Common spotted orchid (Dactylorhiza Fuchsii) and common Twayblade (Listera Ovata ) .Also to be found are Helleborines and butterfly orchids and sometimes Bee orchids too.
This reserve also is home to many chalk loving flowers ,some of which are rare and also wild growing Daphne Mezereum . Also to be found are many insects , butterflies , reptiles and not forgetting the huge Roman Snales.

Eric

[Eric Locke]

A Few More

Eric

[Eric Locke]

Another Batch.

Eric

[Eric Locke]

And More 


Eric

[Maggi Young]

Wow, this is a marvelous place, Eric. And it looks like this time of year it is at a real peak of orchid interest..... really super!

[Luc Gilgemyn]

Wonderful stuff Eric !! 
What an exceptional place !!
Thanks for showing !

[David Nicholson]

Another new place for me to sample. Thank you Eric.

[Paul T]

Question...... what is a ragpit?  I can find references in google to various ragpits, but no explanation of what exactly they are?  I unfortunately can't read enough of that initial picture to see whether that explains it or not?  I think it says something about chalk extraction, so is that the definition of a ragpit?  I've checked a couple of online dictionaries and it doesn't exist in there either?

Thanks for any information.  Just seems such a strange name.

[Mick McLoughlin]

Paul,
Found this it seems like they were for extracting chalk.
Aston Clinton Ragpits visitor information
A small but varied area of old pits at the foot of the Chiltern escarpment, once worked for superior quality chalk. Since the working ceased the site has been colonised by a rich variety of wild flowers, shrubs and animal life. Nine species of orchid flowering between May and July and over 30 species of butterfly have been recorded here.

Cheers
Mick

[Paul T]

Mick,

So I take it that ragpits is not a term in common usage over there then?

[Maggi Young]

Ragpits  is not a term I'd heard before, Paul..... but then I'm in Scotland where chalk pits of any kind are not exactly common. Looking as hard as I can at the notice at the start, it seems to say that the term "rag" was a (local?)  one in use for chalk pit extraction for the building trade..... Not that I'm much the wiser for that! We'll need an "olde English personne " to explain, I think!  

Wonderful what we learn here, isn't it? 

[David Nicholson]

I think the original definition of the word 'rag' is probably lost in time. In some areas of England chalk rock is known as 'rag' but yet a particular kind of stone quarried in Kent is known as 'ragstone' but this is a sandstone derived rock. I haven't been able to find the word 'rag' in any of the Old English dictionaries but I have read elsewhere that 'rag' in Old English means rugged. Ragge is sometimes seen in Middle English and sometimes means rugged. Old Norse has the word 'rogg' (I can't do the twiddly bits!) which can mean tuft or shagginess and possibly could mean 'litchen'. Obviously the original meaning has a lead to modern english stone of various types.

[Maggi Young]

Thank you, olde Englishe personne!  

[David Nicholson]

That's OK. I feel old today too, bloody cats are getting me down.

[Maggi Young]

That's OK. I feel old today too, bloody cats are getting me down.

Oh dear, yes, I gather that from your post in the Iris section. Very annoying indeed: I can offer to lend you Molly the lodging Westie for a couple of days.... she is very good at what she does............