Howford Banks, near Acomb in Northumberland, is somewhere I try to visit every spring to enjoy its distinctive woodland flora. Yellow Star-of-Bethlehem Gagea lutea, Wild Daffodil Narcissus pseudonarcissus subsp. pseudonarcissus and a wealth of other ancient woodland indicators make it one of the loveliest woodland sites in the county. Peaceful, colourful and with superb views across the turbulent North Tyne, it is a site that never disappoints.

Yet, impressive though these spring flowers are, they are not what makes Howford Banks truly special. That accolade belongs to the representatives of the ‘North Tyne Bank’ assemblage, a distinctive suite of plants associated with the rocky, shaded riverbanks between here and Nether Warden. Keen to see more of these specialities for myself, I headed there last week with a group of Natural History Society of Northumbria members.

Our route first took us through the woodland towards the famous rock ledge opposite Nether Warden. Much had changed since my spring visit. Most of the woodland flora had faded, replaced by striking stands of Monk’s-hood Aconitum napellus, Martagon Lily Lilium martagon and Leopard’s-bane Doronicum pardalianches – some of the more unexpected plants to be found here.

The riverside scrub supported a rich willow community comprising Purple Willow Salix purpurea, Rusty Willow Salix cinerea subsp. oleifolia and, best of all, Dark-leaved Willow Salix myrsinifolia, the first of our target species. Separating it from the closely related Tea-leaved Willow Salix phylicifolia, which also occurs here, can be rather challenging, but all of the shrubs we examined appeared to fit S. myrsinifolia.

Nearby, the water’s edge supported Cyperus Sedge Carex pseudocyperus, while a fine specimen of Downy Currant Ribes spicatum – another local speciality – was also found. Further along, an area of recent slippage held Fragrant Agrimony Agrimonia procera and Wild Basil Clinopodium vulgare. Around our lunch stop, Globeflower Trollius europaeus was a particularly welcome sight, accompanied by stands of Giant Bellflower Campanula latifolia.

Pressing on to the famous rock platform opposite Nether Warden (NY918671), highlighted on the BSBI website, the specialities continued to appear. Here we found Northern Bedstraw Galium boreale, Dyer’s Greenweed Genista tinctoria, Clustered Bellflower Campanula glomerata and further examples of Dark-leaved Willow, Fragrant Agrimony and Wild Basil.

The return walk provided a few final highlights, including Broad-leaved Helleborine Epipactis helleborine. We scrutinised each plant in the hope that one might prove to be the much rarer Green-flowered Helleborine Epipactis phyllanthes, which grows nearby, but no such luck. Wild Marjoram Origanum vulgare rounded off the day nicely.

Comparing our observations with published accounts of the North Tyne Bank assemblage, it seems we missed just one of the principal species: Tea-leaved Willow. I shall simply have to look a little harder next time!