Mastodawn

The Black Seam Remembering the Hapton Valley Colliery Disaster

http://northwestnatureandhistory.co.uk/2026/03/20/the-black-seam/

The Black Seam

On the 22nd of March, 1962, the tight-knit mining community of Hapton in Lancashire was shaken by catastrophe when an underground explosion ripped through Hapton Valley Colliery, the town’s main em…

Northwest Nature and History

Alex Burton Hargreaves 2d ago

Springtime Lepidoptera on the Fylde Coast Dunes

http://northwestnatureandhistory.co.uk/2026/03/18/springtime-lepidoptera-on-the-fylde-coast-dunes/

Springtime Lepidoptera on the Fylde Coast Dunes

Lancashire’s Fylde Coast features one of the finest stretches of sand dunes anywhere in England. From St Annes to Starr Gate these dynamic dune-systems, remnants of a once vast realm of sandy hills…

Northwest Nature and History

Alex Burton Hargreaves 6d ago

Hymn to Spring, by Lancastrian Poet Samuel Bamford

http://northwestnatureandhistory.co.uk/2026/03/14/hymn-to-spring-by-lancastrian-poet-samuel-bamford/

Hymn to Spring, by Lancastrian Poet Samuel Bamford

Sweet bringer of new life, welcome thou hither! Though with thee comes the strife of changeful weather. Oh! young and coldly fair, come with thy storm-blown hair. Down casting snow-pearls fair, for…

Northwest Nature and History

Alex Burton Hargreaves Mar 12

Ammophila arenaria, Aeolian Architect

http://northwestnatureandhistory.co.uk/2026/03/12/ammophila-arenaria-aeolian-architect/

Ammophila arenaria, Aeolian Architect

Marram grass, Ammophila arenaria, also known as European beachgrass, is one of our most iconic and ecologically important maritime plant species. A tough, perennial grass it thrives in the harsh, w…

Northwest Nature and History

Alex Burton Hargreaves Mar 7

Buds and Blossoms, the First Signs of Spring

http://northwestnatureandhistory.co.uk/2026/03/07/when-the-buds-and-the-blossoms-are-fresh-on-the-trees/

When the Buds and the Blossoms are Fresh on the Trees!

The arrival of spring often feels hard-won here in northern England, winters linger longer here than in the south, with colder temperatures and more frequent frosts delaying the greening of the lan…

Northwest Nature and History

Alex Burton Hargreaves Mar 5

Recently I wrote about the Forest City Proposals and how they could set precedents which would threaten countryside throughout the UK, here is a grest blog by West Suffolk councillor Nick Clarke on the subject

http://northwestnatureandhistory.co.uk/2026/03/05/recently-i-wrote-about-the-forest-city-proposals-and-how-they-could-set-precedents-which-would-threaten-countryside-throughout-the-uk-here-is-a-grest-blog-by-west-suffolk-councillor-nick-clarke-on-th/

Recently I wrote about the Forest City Proposals and how they could set precedents which would threaten countryside throughout the UK, here is a grest blog by West Suffolk councillor Nick Clarke on the subject

Visit the post for more.

Northwest Nature and History

Alex Burton Hargreaves Mar 4

Coltsfoot Rocks!

http://northwestnatureandhistory.co.uk/2026/03/04/coltsfoot-rocks/

Coltsfoot Rocks!

Coltsfoot, Tussilago farfara, a member of the Asteraceae family, is a perennial herb known for its bright yellow, Dandelion-like flowers that emerge early in spring, often before its broad, hoof-sh…

Northwest Nature and History

Alex Burton Hargreaves Feb 28

The Red Rose of Lancashire

http://northwestnatureandhistory.co.uk/2026/02/28/the-red-rose-of-lancashire/

The Red Rose of Lancashire

The story of the Red Rose of Lancashire begins in the 14th century with the royal House of Lancaster when this noble family, descended from John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, adopted the red rose as…

Northwest Nature and History

Alex Burton Hargreaves Feb 24

The Structural History of Samlesbury Hall

http://northwestnatureandhistory.co.uk/2026/02/24/the-structural-history-of-samlesbury-hall/

The Structural History of Samlesbury Hall

The earliest phase of Samlesbury Hall dates to around 1325, when Gilbert de Southworth (Sir Gilbert de Southworth, Knight, Lord of Southworth, Croft, and Samlesbury, to give him his full title) con…

Northwest Nature and History

Alex Burton Hargreaves Feb 21

Bob Platt, a Lancashire Dialect Poem

http://northwestnatureandhistory.co.uk/2026/02/21/the-tale-of-bob-platt/

The Tale of Bob Platt

Bob Platt weren’t a temperance fella in fact he’d a likin’ fer beer. Bur he ne’er used’t go beyond’t limit except once or twice durin’t year.

Northwest Nature and History