34 meet for the EuCAN Summer residential weekend at Daneway in Gloucestershire

Our 2017 annual get-together was held at The Daneway Inn in Gloucestershire over the weekend of June 30th – July 2nd this year. It is a very informal (basic) campsite in the grounds of the pub beside the disused Severn-Thames canal, surrounded by woodland and the Daneway Banks and Siccaridge Woods Reserves managed by the Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust. It was a perfect time to be there as it is a site of the recent successful re-introduction of the Large Blue butterfly and we managed to see a good number of these beautiful creatures on the wing, including at least one egg-laying on marjoram, Origanum vulgare.

Twenty-one people camped, another 9 stayed in local B&B’s and several EuCANers who live nearby joined us over the weekend including 3 who work with the Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust  and are responsible for the reserves at Daneway. Adam Taylor who is Land Manager for the GWT and Alan Sumnall who is the ranger for the local reserves took us for a guided tour of the Daneway Banks Reserve.

Large Blue female ovipositing. Photo: Diana Hall

The pub provided us with both evening meals (delicious food and a super welcome, thank you Poppy and Marcus!) and we catered for ourselves for the other meals.

Click here for a report on the weekend and a link to some of the photos taken.