Events

Roy Vickery is available to give talks and lead walks, for further information see the Compiler page of this website, or e-mail roy@plant-lore.com.

Note: The listed events are arranged by a variety of organizations many of whom might want to charge a fee, or take a collection in aid of their funds. The list includes all of Roy’s upcoming plant events, some of which will have little or no folklore content.

Roy is occasionally available to provide one-to-one walks, or walks for small groups, in the London area, in exchange for a donation to the South London Botanical Institute.

UNLESS OTHERWISE STATED ALL EVENTS ARE LED BY ROY VICKERY

Saturday 3 June 2023:  Wonderful Weeds, discussing the uses and folklore of ‘weeds’, Bandstand Beds, Windmill Drive, Clapham Common, London, SW4, starting at 10.00 a.m. and continuing for c. 90 minutes. Booking required, organised by Bandstand Beds Association http://www.bandstandbeds.org.uk

Saturday 3 June 2023:  Fantastic Plants – Cemetery Plants, their  Uses and Folklore, Brompton Cemetery, Old Brompton Road, SW5, nearest tube stations Earls Court and West Brompton, starting at 2.30 p.m. and continuing for about 90 minutes.  Organised by the Friends of Brompton Cemetery, all, including wheelchair-users, welcome, but booking essential.

Sunday 4 June 2023:  Plant Walk, Streatham Cemetery, Garratt Lane, Tooting, SW17 (c. 10 minutes walk from Tooting Broadway tube station); starting at 12.30 and continuing for c. one hour.  Organised by the Friends of Streatham Cemetery – https://friendsofstreathamcemetery.org.uk.  Free, booking not required.

Sunday 11 June 2023:  Wonderful Weeds, wander around Tamworth Farm Allotments, Mitcham, London Borough of Merton; organised by the Tamworth Farm Allotment Society.

Thursday 15 June 2023:  Wild Flower Walk, Woodfield Pavilion, Tooting Common (off Abbotswood Road), Streatham, London Borough of Lambeth, starting at 11 a.m. and continuing for about an hour, free and booking not required.  Organised by the Woodfield Project – thewoodfieldproject@gmail.com 

Thursday 15 June 2023:  Wild Flower Walk, Glendale Field, accessed via Glendale or Dog Kennel Hill, SE22, London Borough of Southwark, starting at 7 p.m. and continuing for about 90 minutes.  Organised by the Dulwich Society, http://dulwichsociety.com

Saturday 17 June 2023:  Plant Survey with Amanda Tuke and Roy Vickery in West Norwood Cemetery  London Borough of Lambeth, meet at the main entrance to the Cemetery in Norwood Road, SE27, at 11.00 a.m.  All welcome, regardless of ability.  Organised by the South London Botanical Institute – https://www.slbi.org.uk.  Free, booking unnecessary.

Monday 19 June 2023:  Expedition to Farthing Downs and Happy Valley, an opportunity to visit and explore these sites in the London Borough of Croydon with like-minded people at a time when we hope their orchid flora will be at its best.  Starting and finishing at Coulsdon South station.  For further information contact roy@plant-lore.com

Friday 23 June 2023:  Prison Bank Wild Flowers, a walk around Prison Bank, beside Trinity Road, London, SW18, starting at 7.00 p.m. and continuing for about an hour.  Organised by the Friends of Wandsworth Common – http://www.wandsworthcommon.org; free, but booking required.

Saturday 24 June 2023:  Midsummer Wild Flower Hunt in Brockwell Park, London Borough of Lambeth.  Meet at the Clock Tower, near Brockwell Hall, SE24 9AF, at 7 p.m., and continuing for c.90 minutes.  Organised by the South London Botanical Institute –  https://www.slbi.org.uk – for which a collection will be taken, no need to book.

Sunday 25 June 2023:  Botanical Field Meeting on Tooting Common, 2.00 – c.5.00 p.m., a joint London Natural History Society and South London Botanical Institute event, exploring and recording plants on a site where c. 700 species have been found.  Meet at junction of Tooting Bec Road with Elmbourne Road, SW17 (c.10 minutes walk from Tooting Bec tube station); beginners welcome.  Enquiries to roy@plant-lore.com 

Monday 26 June 2023:  Exploring our Flora, walk in Unigate Woods Local Nature Reserve, Roy Namba Close, Streatham, London Borough of Lambeth; starting at 7 p.m. and continuing for c. 90 minutes.  Organised by Friends of Unigate Woods – unigatewoods@gmail.com; spaces limited so booking necessary.

Thursday 13 July 2023:  Wild Flower Walk, Woodfield Pavilion, Tooting Common, London Borough of Streatham,  starting at 11 a.m.; the fifth in a series of walks exploring the flora surrounding the Pavilion; see 15 June for details.

Friday 14 July 2023:  Urban Plants are Exciting, a wheelchair-friendly stroll, around Spring Gardens, Vauxhall, London Borough of Lambeth.  Meet at the junction of Glasshouse and Vauxhall Walks, SE11 5ER, at 11 a.m. and continuing for about 90 minutes.  Organised by the South London Botanical Institute –  https://www.slbi.org.uk – for which a collection will be taken.  Booking not needed.

Saturday 15 July 2023:  Herbal Heritage – Folklore & Uses of our Garden Plants, Amersham Museum, 49 High Street, Amersham, Buckinghamshire; details to be confirmed.

Wednesday 19 July 2023:  Summer Wild Flowers walk, meet at Mill House Ecology Centre, Windmill Road, CR4 1HT, London Borough of Merton, exploring plants on Mitcham Common, starting at 7 p.m., and continuing for about 90 minutes.  Organised by the South London Botanical Institute, booking necessary https://www.slbi.org.uk

Tuesday 8 August 2023:  Botanical Survey, St Leonard’s Churchyard, Streatham, London Borough of Lambeth, another meeting continuing the South London Botanical Institute’s – https://www.slbi.org.uk  – longterm survey of plants growing on this site, meet at 6 p.m.; booking unnecessary.

Wednesday 9 August 2023:  Wild Flowers & Folklore, a stroll discussing the folklore and uses of wild plants, Whitstable, Kent, a Wild About Whitstable event; details to be confirmed.

Thursday 10 August 2023:  Wild Flower Walk, Woodfield Pavilion, Tooting Common, London Borough of Streatham, starting at 11 a.m., the sixth in a series of walks exploring the flora around the Pavilion; see 15 June for details.

Saturday 12 August 2023:  Walk and Talk on Tooting Common, London Borough of Wandsworth, Roy Vickery joins walkers-and-talkers to discuss some of the Common’s flora; meet at the café, off Bedford Hill, at 10.30 a.m., for further details see wandsworth@walkandtalkmovement.org

Sunday 13 August 2023:  The Lure & Lore of Wild Flowers, afternoon walk, Prestwood Nature Reserve (also known as Prestwood Nature Picnic Site), Buckinghamshire, starting at 2.30 p.m.’  organised by www.prestwoodnature.org/wp/.

Thursday 7 September 2023:  Common Wild Flowers, a walk on Wandsworth Common, starting at 11 a.m. and continuing for about an hour.  Organised by the Friends of Wandsworth Common –  http://www.wandsworthcommon.org; free, but booking required.

Sunday 8 October 2023:  Recording Allotment ‘Weeds’, another in a series of such days when the London Natural History Society and the South London Botanical Institute record the wild plants growing on Tamworth Farm Allotments, Mitcham, London Borough of Merton; beginners welcome.  

Thursday 12 October 2023:  private plant-lore walk for group of Americans visiting London.

Monday 1 January 2024:  Annual New Year Wild Flower Hunt, Brockwell Park, London Borough of Lambeth, starting at 11 a.m., organised by the South London Botanical Institute; details to follow.

Tuesday 2 January 2024:  New Year Wild Flower Hunt, Tooting Common, London Borough of Wandsworth; details to follow.

Wednesday 3 January 2024:  New Year Wild Flower Hunt, Brompton Cemetery, London Borough of Kensington & Chelsea, to be confirmed.

Saturday 22 June 2024:  Wild Flowers and their Folklore, Brompton Cemetery, London Borough of Kensington & Chelsea; a contribution to the Beatrix Potter Society’s Garden Open Day, details to follow.

Feedback on past events                                                                                                                                                                NEGATIVE FEEDBACK WOULD BE APPRECIATED SO THAT FUTURE TALKS AND EVENTS CAN BE IMPROVED.    For more recent feedback see reports of individual events on the Blog page of this website.

‘What an absolutely wonderful talk! … I had a blast’ [Zoom talk on the folklore an uses of hedgerow plants, for the Shropshire branch of the Council for the Preservation of Rural England, 12 January 2022].

‘A wonderful experience – it has inspired me to look further at the overlooked wild flowers I come across daily – and, I should add, Roy was a delight!’ [Wandsworth Heritage Festival plant walk, 11 June 2021].

dav

‘Thank you so much, that was fantastic’ [Festival of the Great North Wood on-line talk, 14 April 2021].

‘Very engaging’, [St Leonard’s, Streatham, Herbal Heritage walk, 23 September 2020].

‘Thanks for yesterday.  Me and my friends had a blast.  Can’t wait for the next stomp’ [Tooting Common tree walk, 29 August 2020].

‘Thanks for the very informative talk last night.  Everyone said how interesting it was’ [talk to Dulwich, Peckham & Crystal Palace Rotary Club, 26 August 2020].

‘Roy was warmly thanked  for an excellent and entertaining talk’ [report on the London Natural History Society’s Botany Section  2018 AGM talk, London Naturalist, 98: 21, 2019].                                                                               

 ‘Roy provided a master-class. You simply cannot buy that experience’ [Camberwell Old Cemetery Plant Walk, September 2019].

‘Thanks very much for … your exceedingly interesting talk’ [Leigh-on-Sea Horticultural Society, 5 January 2019].

‘Thank you so much for your walk and talk yesterday Roy, it was much appreciated and has prompted ideas for future activities’ [Friends of Stambourne Woods, 8 September 2018].

‘I just wanted to write to say how much my partner and I enjoyed the walk in Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park today.  It was a fascinating tour and got me thinking about local names and stories about plants …  it has certainly left me wanting to learn more’ [5 August 2018].

‘Thanks for an enjoyable and so interesting walk on Cranham Marshes last evening’ [12 July 2018].

‘Roy was very insightful and cleared up some doubts I had about some of the weeds’ [National Weed Appreciation Day, 28 March 2018].

‘Being in Roy’s company and having an opportunity to soak up his knowledge’ [most enjoyable aspect of Plant Folklore for Walk Leaders, South London Botanical Institute, 21 February 2018].

‘Many thanks for your very entertaining and informative talk at the FOTC AGM yesterday – much appreciated’ [Friends of Tooting Common, 13 November 2017].

‘I really enjoyed the [Poppies – beyond Flanders Fields] talk’ [South London Botanical Institute, 10 November 2017].

‘Thank you for your talk yesterday afternoon.  I find folklore to be a fascinating subject, and was very interested to hear of the examples which you spoke about’ [Purley Townswomen’s Guild, 8 November 2017].

‘Really enjoyed the walk’ [Streatham Park tree walk, 23 September 2017].

Images: upper, discussing hemlock, Conium maculatum, Spring Gardens, Vauxhall, London Borough of Lambeth, March 2021, © Melat Negash;  middle, Signs of Spring plant walk, Tooting Common, London Borough of  Wandsworth, March 2022, ©Peter Ramell; lower, discussing Weeds & their Uses, Railside Community Garden, Streatham, London Borough of Lambeth, August 2021, © Amanda Waite.

Updated 31 May 2023.