Extending from the craft studios at Porthloo through to Old Town on St. Mary’s, the level terrain of the Lower Moors Nature Trail makes it a popular walking route with locals and visitors alike.
At its northern end, the trail starts at the rear of the craft studios and leads to a part-boarded walkway meandering through a small wetland area adjacent to Porthloo duck pond. Head over the road, approaching the nearby farm buildings and turn right just before the farm entrance through the gap provided in the hedgerow.
The trail passes through a stretch of meadowland interspersed with bramble thickets - look out for the resident black wild rabbits along the way!. Turning left, the track continues parallel to the road where clusters of tiny, fragrant scarlet pittosporum flowers can be found along the field boundary.
At the junction with Rocky Hill lane, pick up the trail through the small wooden gate slightly to the right. Swathes of daffodil flowers, set against a background of leefless elms, can be found carpeting the ground adjacent to Rose Hill.
| Click Thumbnails to see an enlargement then back button to return to this page. |
On a cool but sunny March day, their bright and cheery display provides welcome evidence that Spring has well and truly arrived. Clumps of bluebell can be seen scattered throughout the surrounding meadowland whilst lesser celandine, fragrant sweet violet and the pungent white flowered, three-cornered leek (wild garlic) all contribute to the ‘heady’ scent experienced along the way.
The two sections of the trail are seperated by Telegraph Road. Walking over the road, the southern part towards Old Town passes through an area with raised ground flanked by marshland and a thicket of trees, overgrown with ivy, wild honeysuckle and the occasional fungus. The lace-like lichen smothering some of the tree branches is testament to the clean, unpolluted air of the Islands. Bird hides can be found, discretely positioned at intervals along the way enabling visitors to view the birdlife inhabiting the surrounding pools and wetland.
Strolling on, the bright open area of reed beds encountered contrasts sharply with the former shaded walkway. Willow thickets with their characteristic catkins mingle with the bright coloured gorse bushes on either side of the trail.
| Click Thumbnails to see an enlargement then back button to return to this page. |
The tall spikey plumes of the surrounding reeds can be heard rustling in the breeze often accompanied by a chorus of songthrush. The trail continues alongside disused flower fields eventually ending at Old Town.
The maintenance and free open access of the Lower Moors Nature Trail and its wetland areas is accredited to the work of the staff and volunteers of the Isles of Scilly Wildlife Trust in conjunction with the Isles of Scilly Bird Group.
