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Posted by David Brooknm
on 25/3/2009, 4:16 am, in reply to "Avon Gorge"
92.236.91.241
There's plenty to see around the Gorge at the moment, and much of it should still have a reasonable chance of being in flower in mid-April. Along the River Avon towpath Bristol Rock-cress (Arabis scabra) is in full bloom on limestone at path level, and there's plenty of Spurge-laurel (Daphne laureola) in the path-side scrub; access here is via the Leigh Woods National Nature Reserve, the car park of which is off of North Road on the opposite side of the Suspension Bridge (Google Earth will clear up any confusion 
).
There's also a remarkable selection of aliens naturalised around the top of the Gorge and surrounding quiet residential streets here; a careful walk from the Suspension Bridge to the Leigh Woods car park ought to produce Turkish Squill (Scilla bithynica), Garden Hyacinth (Hyacinthus orientalis), several species/hybrids of daffodil (Narcissus sp.), two species of Glory-of-the-Snow (Chionodoxa forbesii & luciliae), Two-spined Acaena (Acaena ovalifolium, though not in flower), Stinking Hellebore (Helleborus foetidus) & Garden Solomon's-seal (Polygonatum x hybridum) amongst others, plus there's currently a magnificent specimen of Lenten-rose (Helleborus orientalis) perfectly naturalised in roadside woodland just past the Leigh Woods car park.
As for Bristol generally, it's my local patch so, whilst I certainly wouldn't claim to be any kind of expert on the local flora, I'd be happy to show you sites for quite a few unusual introductions (Corsican Hellebore Helleborus argutifolius, Koromiko Hebe salicifolia, Labrador Violet Viola labradorica & possibly Hairy Canary-clover Dorycnium hirsutum ought to be visible).
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