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Woodland Trust
Pyrenees Walking Holidays
Alpine Flower Walks
wildflower strewn meadows
  Wildflower Walks
in a nutshell
 
Organised Flower Walks
  Five days a week (not Wednesday or Saturday) during June and July only, we offer a flower walk in each of our resorts.  
Most walks could be categorised as 'easy' or 'intermediate'. Occasionally, the walks are 'static', whereby we go to a specific area of interest and potter generally amongst the various species.
These walks are free of charge and completely optional. If they interest you, simply drop into
Office Hour to sign up for the next day's itinerary.
Walks set off after breakfast at about 9 - 9.30am. We usually take a packed lunch and return to the village mid afternoon, depending on the length and location of the walk.
Spectacular Scenery  
 
Expect lowland and upland meadows, woodland trails, riverside tracks and sleepy hamlets, all with the spectacular massifs towering high above.
 
Be Independent
  The advice and guidance of our Wildflower Enthausiasts is available each evening at Office Hour. For anyone with an interest in flowers who would prefer to go out independently.
Presentation
  Once a week in each of our three resorts our Wildflower Enthausiasts give a presentation and a talk, which will entertain anyone with an interest in alpine flora.  
hundreds of different species
This is an outstanding area for wildflowers and it is one of life's great pleasures to walk among them. The Dolomites present a slightly different geology from the main alpine chain and many rare species are at their best here, notably Campanula morettiana, Eritrichium nanum, Paederota bonarota, Papaver rhaeticum, Potentilla nitida, Ranunculus seguieri and the very beautiful Physoplexis comosa. The villages of Arabba, Corvara and Pedraces are on the doorstep of some of the most renowned floral sites in the Alps, such as the Bindelweg, the Belvedere, Pordoi, the Sella, Selva and the Val Gardena.
Stalking Wildflowers with Cliff Booker in Meadows above Arabba.
Habitats vary from vivid and profuse upland meadows teeming with orchids and wildflowers to rocky outcrops where countless alpine gems thrive in the most perfect of settings. In spring, as the snow retreats to the highest peaks, crocuses and hepaticas appear and the flower season begins. By mid/late June, the alpine pastures are smothered in startling colour - the yellows of the arnicas, geums and poppies - the pinks, mauves and reds of the soldanellas, daphne, primulas and rhododendrons - the stunning blues of the campanulas and gentians and, in its high mountain home, the 'King of the Alps', Eritrichium nanum. July enhances this botanical array with edelweiss, lilies, potentillas and orchids, creating a truly floral paradise under a high summer sun.
organised flower walks
Throughout June and July when the flora is at its best, we organise five flower walks a week with a dedicated enthusiast who has an intimate knowledge of the flora and who will help you find the profuse, the spectacular and the rare. On a few occasions, these walks will be 'static'; in other words, instead of walking a prescribed route, the day is spent in one location of specific excellence. Our wildflower enthusiasts are often accomplished floral photographers and will be pleased to help you capture these exquisite subjects. In the evening, they offer
the occasional talk or slide show, where,  
Photographing the ‘Devil’s Claw’ (Physoplexus comosum).
as with the walks, the person with a layman's interest will be as much at home as the passionate enthusiast.
If you would like to know more about the flora, we can send you, by kind permission of the Alpine Garden Society, an extract from 'Mountain Flower Holidays in Europe' by Lionel Bacon. It will convince you this is an exceptional area for flowers.We can also send you a list of all the species spotted in June and July 2006 by Ruth Croome, our wildflower expert in the Val Badia in Summer 2006. Ruth, who is back with us in Summer 2007, is currently working on her Dolomites Flower Book, a user-friendly guide for the layman - please contact us if you would like a copy hot off the press.
flowers in summer 2006
A splendid array of alpine plants characterised our walks in 2006 and from the onset of a quite early spring we were rewarded with a diversity and richness of flora that lasted well into the cooler days of autumn. Photogenic patches of snow lingered on the screes and high ridges even into late June, but choice spring flowers flourished in the woods, meadows and valleys from mid-May onwards. The upland pastures around Arabba and Pedraces were awash with sheets of colour for much of the year. At higher altitudes well-marked paths afforded access to vast sun-baked screes dotted with iridescent alpine gems, while the loftier but still accessible ridges cradled rare and enchanting species.
Crocus albiflorus (1)
Trollius europaeus (2)
Pulsatilla vernalis (3)

As always, dainty purple and white Crocus albiflorus (1) were one of the first species to bloom, bedecking the lush green meadows with their varied hues.These fragile bulbous gems were stunningly augmented by the golden-yellows of the globeflowers (Trollius europaeus) (2), massed in floral profusion on the upper flanks of the now quite verdant valleys, both were then shortly joined by the unrivalled beauty of the pasque flowers, illustrated here by the sublimely hairy Pulsatilla vernalis (3).
Gentiana acaulis (4)
Geum reptans (5)
Lilium martagon (6)

Every colour of the rainbow seemed to be represented during the warm midsummer months when the dramatic blues of the gentians vied for attention with the yellows of the geums, the whites of the mountain avens and the lustrous pinks of the primulas, rhododendrons and potentillas. The adjective gentian evokes the deepest of blues and the trumpet gentians; (Gentiana acaulis) (4) did not disappoint with their clusters of royal blue open-mouthed goblets soaking up the radiant warmth of a hot summer sun. Butter yellow geums; (Geum reptans) (5) and the stately martagon lilies with their pendulous purple-pink flower heads (Lilium martagon) (6) flourished in the sun drenched rocky outcrops, while deep magenta flushes of Potentilla nitida rubra (7) and Silene acaulis spread gracefully from the abundant crevices of the cliffs and boulders.
Potentilla nitida rubra (7)
Arnica montana (8)
Dianthus superbus (9)
The surrounding meadow turf teemed all summer long with beautiful orchids,burnt-yellow arnicas (Arnica Montana) (8); the pastel pinks of primulas and the filigreed flowers of the exquisite Dianthus superbus (9). These often wet grassy slopes also supported vast colonies of the delightful spring gentian (Gentiana verna) (10), it's tiny upward-facing flowers reflecting the often azure blue of a clear dolomitic sky…much smaller in all it's parts than it's trumpeted relative (Gentiana acaulis) this beautiful harbinger of spring covered wide expanses of hillside on the Pordoi and Sella passes in particular.
Meanwhile, at lower altitudes, damp shaded glades in wooded areas were enriched by the majesty of the ladies-slipper orchids; Cypripedium calceolus (11), a plant now virtually and sadly lost to our woodlands here in Britain. Here, however, in this limestone haven, these glorious orchids really flourished in the summer of 2005, much to our complete pleasure.
Gentiana verna (10)
Cypripedium calceolus (11)
Paederota bonarota (12)
A vast array of species carpeted the route of practically every walk, whilst those with a head for heights could discover a rare endemic such as Paederota bonarota (12) in one of the barren limestone outcrops or the gorgeous honey-scented Thlaspi rotundifolium (13) on an exposed scree and, if particularly fortunate, one may have been personally greeted by the 'untameable' 'King of the Alps'; Eritrichium nanum (14). This sky-blue, yellow-centred gem forms tight, hairy cushions on boulders at the highest of altitudes and flowered profusely during much of June and July 2005.
Thlaspi rotundifolium (13)
Eritrichium nanum (14)
The seasons may change (whether early or late) and those fragile limestone pinnacles may occasionally crumble but time does not erode the beauty of these majestic mountains and their spectacular Dolomitic flora. In 2005, Arabba, Corvara and Pedraces were only one small step away from these magnificent plants.

Text & photography: Cliff Booker

To see two further reports by Cliff Booker about the Dolomites on the Scottish Rock Garden Website click the following links; www.srgc.org.uk/part one & www.srgc.org.uk/part two.
Stalking wildflowers with Ruth Croome.