How would you look to Kehaar, as he circled high above the River Test, not far from Efrafa, the dangerous warren of General Woundwort?
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" Some of his top television roles included Caligula in "I, Claudius" in 1976, General Woundwort in "Watership Down" and the War Doctor in "Doctor Who.
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Later, Kehaar becomes the rabbits' steadfast friend and ally, crucially attacking General Woundwort — the most disturbing and disturbed rabbit ever — near the bank of the River Test.
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They encounter human beings with machines and poisons, snarling dogs and a large colony of rabbits who have surrendered their freedoms for security under a tyrannical oversize rabbit, General Woundwort.
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The military hero, Bigwig, could have been a Woundwort in a different dispensation; instead he willingly bends to the statesman, Hazel, who lacks his strength and fearlessness but exceeds him in foresight and guile.
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But the ultimate enemy proves to be another rabbit, General Woundwort (Ben Kingsley, leaning into the big-bad role), who has turned his colony, Efrafa, into a militaristic kind of Bunny Sparta in the name of safety.
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The rabbit heroes first approach Efrafa seeking to recruit does, to enable their fledgling warren to survive; by the end of the book, they're engaged in a death struggle with Woundwort that requires all their own political virtues to survive.
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The next alternative, Efrafa, is a totalitarian prison house: Instead of surrendering an essential rabbitness for the sake of ease and safety, Efrafa's dictator, the terrifying and omnicompetent General Woundwort, deals with the enmity of men and predators by running a police state, one that keeps its rabbits underground and regimented, trains the strongest bucks to fight and rule and dominate, denies any agency to the warren's females, and refuses diplomacy and cooperation with fellow rabbits as much as with any other creature.
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Along the way, they encounter numerous other rabbit warrens, which may or may not represent various responses to fascism during World War II. (I come down on the side of "may not," but hey, symbolism is fun.) The rabbits, led by ordinary bun Hazel and his psychic brother Fiver, build a new society atop Watership Down, then raid an ultra-fascistic warren led by General Woundwort in order to help some of the female rabbits who live there escape and join them for breeding purposes.
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39 Its close relatives hedge woundwort and marsh woundwort are also used to treat wounds.
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Hedge woundwort is popular with bees. Along with its close relatives field woundwort and marsh woundwort, as their common names suggest, they are used to promote the healing of wounds. The famous 17th century herbalist John Gerard was very impressed with its powers and used it extensively.
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As their common names suggest, along with its close relatives field woundwort and hedge woundwort it is used to promote the healing of wounds. Wort is a middle English word for a herb or vegetable.
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Stagonomus venustissimus, common name woundwort shieldbug, is a species of shieldbug belonging to the family Pentatomidae, subfamily Pentatominae.
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Stachys recta, commonly known as stiff hedgenettle or perennial yellow- woundwort, is herbaceous perennial plant of the family Lamiaceae.
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Limestone woundwort is protected under the 1981 Wildlife and Countryside Act, and was found in the area in 1897 by Mr C Buckenall. It has not been previously recorded in the United Kingdom. Another site was then discovered in Denbighshire. The plant grows in mountainous regions in central and southern Europe, and its alternative name is alpine woundwort.
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Stachys palustris, commonly known as marsh woundwort, clown's woundwort, clown's heal-all, marsh hedgenettle, or hedge-nettle,Dickinson, T.; Metsger, D.; Bull, J.; & Dickinson, R. (2004) ROM Field Guide to Wildflowers of Ontario. Toronto:Royal Ontario Museum, p. 298. is an ediblenorthern bushcraft perennial grassland herb growing to 80 centimeters tall. It is native to parts of Eurasia but has been introduced to North America.
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When they arrive at the farm, Hazel unties the dog and releases it while Blackberry, Dandelion and Hyzenthlay use themselves as bait to make the animal follow them. Meanwhile, the Efrafans break through the warren's defences. Woundwort easily slays Blackavar, then violently battles with Bigwig. When the dog arrives and starts attacking the Efrafan soldiers, Woundwort fearlessly stands his ground and viciously lunges at the dog.
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Hedge woundwort is native to Europe and central and western Asia. It grows in dappled shade at the edge of woods, in hedgerows and on rough ground.
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Hedge woundwort is plentiful, as are wild angelica (Angelica sylvestris) is plentiful, as are Hedge woundwort (Stachys sylvatica), yellow flag iris (Iris pseudacorus), and reed canary grass, (Phalaris arundinacea). The open water area exhibits yellow pond-lily (Nuphar lutea). Wild angelica, reedmace (bullrush), yellow meadow vetchling, Yorkshire fog grass, tussock grass, and meadowsweet were also noted and Brooklime speedwell grows within the ditch of the Joppa Burn inflow.
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However she managed to escape along with Campion and Blackberry and aided the Watership Down rabbits in their fight against Woundwort. She settles down with Bigwig at Watership Down after the final battle. Granite – was the chief of Darkhaven, before losing his title to Campion during combat (of which later Campion gave the title to Woundwort as soon as he arrived at Darkhaven). Granite is no doubt one of the warren's strongest rabbits.
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Silverweed – he is a seer with mental abilities similar to Fiver, in particular possessing the ability to see into another rabbit's mind by touch. He is traded to Woundwort to help him seek his destiny and was taken away from the Warren of the Shining Wires to Darkhaven, but later ends up on Watership Down and becomes a good friend of the rabbits there, even sacrificing most of his youth to help save the warren from Woundwort.
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Afterwards, he and Blackberry settled down together. Moss – Moss is a military rabbit who becomes leader of the Efrafa rabbits after the battle with the rabbits of Watership Down. Vervain – Vervain is a cowardly and sneaky rabbit, more adept at spying on others and threatening the weaker ones than in actual combat and is (next to Woundwort) the most hated and despised rabbit of the Watership Down story. Despite his shortcomings, Woundwort values him (though he would not show this) for his loyalty to him.
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Shortly thereafter, however, the Owsla of Efrafa, led by Woundwort himself, arrives to attack and colonise the warren at Watership Down. Through Bigwig's bravery and loyalty, and Hazel's ingenuity, the Watership Down rabbits seal the fate of the Efrafan general by unleashing the Nuthanger Farm watchdog. As the Efrafans flee in terror, Woundwort, despite being greatly wounded in his battle with Bigwig, refuses to back down and leaps at the dog. His body is never found, and at least one of his former followers continues to believe in his survival.
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General Woundwort – The main antagonist of the series. A brutal and tyrannical leader who sees himself as the one doing everything for the best of his warren, Woundwort strives to destroy Hazel and his 'outsiders' because of the hope for free life they represent for his own subjects. He is a huge, burly rabbit with black, ragged fur and a blinded left eye. He deeply respects Campion, even after his betrayal by him, and he often punishes and threatens Vervain, but still values him as an adviser and loyal subject despite this.
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He briefly shows a softer side after Pipkin tells him that his parents were killed by a weasel (a fate that Woundwort himself went through), and for a brief moment before Efrafa's destruction sees himself for what he is and what he has brought Efrafa to. After the destruction of Efrafa, Woundwort becomes obsessed with seeking his destiny of destruction, which leads him to the warren he was born in: Darkhaven. In the end, he is taken by the Black Rabbit of Inlé along with most of the Darkhaven rabbits. Campion – Woundwort's most trusted subordinate.
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The prime aim is to increase the numbers of limestone woundwort, which are now reported present in the woodland units of the SSSI. Nettles are kept under control and the hedgerow is laid. Meadows are cut in June.
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Although Campion saved his life on more than one occasion, Vervain hates him with a passion and would like nothing better than to make Woundwort realize Campion is a traitor. Kehaar is particularly not fond of Vervain and calls him an 'ugly bunny'. After Efrafa's destruction, Vervain tries to live on his own but quickly loses hope, until he is saved by Woundwort from a weasel. Although somewhat shocked by his master's increasing madness, Vervain continues to serve him, though more out of fear than loyalty, and he secretly longs to lead a different life, even if such thoughts are futile.
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Stachys is in the subfamily Lamioideae. Generic limits and relationships in this subfamily are poorly known. The distribution of the genus covers Europe, Asia, Africa, Australasia and North America. Common names include hedgenettle, heal-all, self-heal, woundwort, betony, and lamb's ears.
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As its common name 'field woundwort' suggests, this herb has been used since Roman times in healing wounds, and its seeds, scattered by Roman soldiers, mark the lines of Roman roads.Carlton Reid (2014). "Roads Were Not Built for Cars". Island Press. p.
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Endothenia pullana, the woundwort marble, is a moth of the family Tortricidae. It was described by Adrian Hardy Haworth in 1811. It is found in north-western Europe, Sweden, Finland, Austria, Slovakia, Ukraine, Belarus and Russia.Fauna Europaea The habitat consists of marshy areas.
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Hellebore has also been suggested as the source of the toxin. It has also been asserted that this evidence points to the seeds of the annual woundwort (Stachys annua) being the causal agent. It has been suggested that Galeopsis ladanum seeds are not responsible.
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Hedge woundwort, Aposeris, yellow archangel, sanicle, wood avens and false-brome are found in the shade. In more open areas the wood bluegrass can be found and on the forest fringes grows the rare yellow star- of-Bethlehem. Ivy is widespread. Mistletoe is common on linden trees.
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When the reserve was purchased only a few limestone woundwort plants remained. Dr M Martin (Bristol University) grew some from local seed. These were transplanted into the site. In a good season, a number of flowering spikes can be seen beneath the hedgerow on the site.
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The larvae feed on the flowers and unripe seeds of various herbaceous plants, but only on shaded plants. Larval food plants include European columbine (Aquilegia vulgaris), common stork's-bill (Erodium cicutarium), meadow crane's-bill (Geranium pratense), bog-myrtle (Myrica gale), primroses (Primula species) and hedge woundwort (Stachys sylvatica).
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Stagonomus venustissmus is a univoltine species. The larvae are visible from late June to October, while the new generation of adults appear from August through the following July.Nature Network Amiens The nymphs feed on hedge woundwort (Stachys sylvatica), particularly the seeds, and on Lamiaceae species, especially on white dead-nettle (Lamium album).
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In antiquity, yarrow was known as herbal militaris, for its use in stanching the flow of blood from wounds.Dodson & Dunmire, 2007, Mountain Wildflowers of the Southern Rockies, UNM Press, Other common names for this species include gordaldo, nosebleed plant, old man's pepper, devil's nettle, sanguinary, milfoil, soldier's woundwort, thousand-leaf, and thousand-seal.
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Gravel extraction has created a small lake and several smaller pools and marshland. The pools are surrounded by willow trees, and plants include common fleabane and marsh woundwort. Dragonflies and damselflies are common over the marsh in the summer. There is access to the site by a footpath from the Wyboston Lakes complex.
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Bigwig infiltrates the warren and is made an Owsla officer by their cruel chief, General Woundwort. Bigwig recruits several potential escapees to his cause, including Blackavar and Hyzenthlay. With Kehaar's help, the escapees find a boat to float down the river. That night, Kehaar leaves for his homeland with the gratitude of the warren.
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Marsh woundwort is a perennial plant growing from a horizontal tuberous runner. It has square stems with opposite pairs of leaves that are almost stalkless, linearly lanceolate, slightly cordate at the base and toothed. The calyx has five sharply-pointed lobes. The purplish-red flowers are in terminal spikes, with gaps in the lower part of the spike.
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The marsh woundwort is native to Europe and Asia. Its typical habitat is near the shore of lakes, in marshes with alder trees, on the banks of ditches and streams, in damp meadows, in arable ground and in waste places. In arable land, it is a difficult weed to get rid of because of its persistent tubers.
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Stachys sylvatica, commonly known as hedge woundwort, whitespot, or sometimes as hedge nettle, is a perennial herb growing to 80 cm tall in woodland and unmanaged grassland. In temperate zones of the northern hemisphere it flowers in July and August. The flowers are purple. The leaves, when crushed or bruised, give off an unpleasant fetid smell.
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He is shot while freeing the hutch rabbits at Nuthanger Farm and almost dies, but is saved by his younger brother Fiver. Although lamed by this injury, he leads the foray to Efrafa and comes up with the final, successful strategy to defeat General Woundwort. Hazel's beautiful mate is Primrose, whom he freed from Efrafa. Fiver – Hazel's younger brother.
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Stachys arvensis is a species of flowering plant in the mint family known by the common names field woundwort and staggerweed. It is native to Europe, Western Asia, and North Africa. It is known on other continents as an introduced species and widespread weed. It grows in many types of habitat, including disturbed areas, and often in moist spots.
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Cowslip – the so-called leader of the warren, there is some doubt as to whether he is insane or totally evil. Hazel, Fiver and Bigwig first encounter him when they accompany Captain Holly to recover an injured Sandleford rabbit left there, only to learn the warren's terrible secret when Bigwig nearly becomes a victim and that the missing rabbit was a victim. He becomes angered by Hazel's warren when they help a group of his rabbits escape from his warren, and even helps Woundwort to get his revenge on them, however, as he himself states, "I'm a plotter, not a fighter" and he uses both sides for his own gain. Later he trades his seer, Silverweed, to Woundwort in exchange for the destruction of his escaped rabbit's warren.
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The trees along the canal include pedunculate oak, ash, crack willow and field maple. The area is colonised with common reed, reed sweet-grass and the more open areas support marsh-marigold, yellow water-lily, water dock and gipsywort. Meadowsweet and great willowherb flourish. There is also common valerian, purple-loosestrife, common marsh- bedstraw, yellow iris, ragged robin and marsh woundwort.
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Wooded areas and hedgerow areas support hybrid bluebells (Hyacinthoides non-scripta and Hyacinthoides hispanica). The meadow areas support a range of species which include red campion, primrose, nettle-leaved bellflower, enchanter's nightshade, garlic mustard, hedge woundwort, upright hedge parsley and green alkanet. The car park areas have been constructed of 'grass pavers' and support species such as yarrow, black medick and wild strawberry.
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The hill is a large, unimproved limestone grassland pasture area, with an ungrazed area and an edge of broadleaved woodland (along the western boundary). This site is of special notification because of its large area of flower rich grassland. It is specifically a site for the nationally rare Limestone Woundwort (Stachy alpina). A nearby site (Wotton Hill SSSI) supports this rare plant also.
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By summer, the nest may contain around 100 worker bees. Each nest requires about of suitable habitat. It occurs in herb-rich grassland where it feeds on nectar and pollen from a variety of flowers, especially ones that are complex or have long corollae. Important food plants include knapweed, woundwort, clover, vetch, red bartsia, and narrow-leaved bird's-foot trefoil.
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Ground flora includes nettle-leaved bellflower, goldenrod, spurge laurel and tutsan. stinking hellebore and wood barley (Hordelymus europaeus) may also be found. The site is one of only two United Kingdom sites for the nationally rare limestone woundwort which is found and monitored in Old London Road reserve (unit 2). It is also now reported present in Westridge Wood and Conygre Wood.
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Efrafan trackers eventually find Watership Down. Woundwort rejects Hazel's offer of peace and demands that all deserters must be turned over or Watership Down will be wiped out. While the Watership rabbits barricade their warren, Fiver slips into a trance, in which he envisions a dog loose in the woods. His mumblings inspire Hazel to try and retrieve the farm dog and lead it to the Efrafans.
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Salt Way, Ditchley is a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) east of Charlbury in Oxfordshire. It is also a Local Nature Reserve. This is a stretch of an ancient track together with its species-rich grass verges and hedges. It has been designated an SSSI because it has the largest known British colony of the very rare downy woundwort, with more than 100 seedlings and 60 flowering stems.
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They are on wing from late June to August. The larvae feed on Labiates including black horehound (Ballota nigra), dead nettles (Lamium species), white horehound (Marrubium vulgare), Phlomis species, Stachys alopecuros, lamb's-ear (Stachys byzantina), betony (Stachys officinalis), stiff hedgenettle (Stachys recta) and hedge woundwort (Stachys sylvatica). Young larvae make a full depth, quickly widening corridor. The frass is deposited as small grains in a broad central band.
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Prunella vulgaris (known as common self-heal, heal-all, woundwort, heart-of- the-earth, carpenter's herb, brownwort and blue curls) is a herbaceous plant in the genus Prunella. Self-heal is edible: the young leaves and stems can be eaten raw in salads; the plant in whole can be boiled and eaten as a potherb; and the aerial parts of the plant can be powdered and brewed in a cold infusion to make a beverage.
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22 The rest of the coniferous forests include most often whortleberry, northern oak fern, woundwort, and common cow-wheat. The soil rich in diabase allows the growth of more demanding plants, such as Alpine blue-sow-thistle, wood cranesbill and northern wolfsbane. These zones also have a great number of species of moss; the park has more than a third of all the species of moss in the country. The animal life in these areas is also relatively rich.
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Hedge woundwort is an erect perennial plant with slender underground runners and grows to a height of about . The stem branches occasionally and is squarish and hairy, with glandular hairs on the upper part of the plant. The nodes are widely spaced and the mid-green, stalked leaves are in opposite pairs. The leaf blades are hairy, have a cordate base and are ovate with a blunt tip and with regular large teeth on the margin.
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However, no trace of Woundwort is ever found which leaves his fate a mystery. Several years later, an elderly Hazel is visited by the Black Rabbit, who invites him to join his own Owsla, assuring him of Watership Down's perpetual safety. Reassured, Hazel accepts and dies peacefully. His spirit follows the Black Rabbit through the woodland and trees towards the Sun, which metamorphoses into Frith, and the afterlife, as Frith's parting advice to El- Ahrairah is heard once more.
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Despite their uncertainty about living wild, the hutch rabbits are willing to come to Watership. Hazel leads a raid on the farm the next day, during which he rescues both does, but only one of the bucks, at the expense of badly injuring Hazel's hind-leg. When the emissary returns soon after, Hazel and his rabbits learn that Efrafa is a police state led by the despotic General Woundwort. Holly and the other rabbits dispatched there have managed to return with little more than their lives intact.
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In the United Kingdom, the organisation Plantlife International instituted the "County Flowers scheme" in 2002, for which members of the public nominated and voted for a wild flower emblem for their county. The aim was to spread awareness of the heritage of native species and about the need for conservation, as some of these species are endangered. For example, Somerset has adopted the Cheddar Pink (Dianthus gratianopolitanus), London the Rosebay Willowherb (Chamerion angustifolium) and Denbighshire/Sir Ddinbych in Wales the rare Limestone Woundwort (Stachys alpina).
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Despite her deep hatred for Vervain, she, Fiver, Holly, and Captain Broom saved his life when he was caught in some wire, although she originally protested the idea of helping the rabbit "that made her life miserable." Later she hates herself for letting him go when she finds out he formed an alliance out of fear with Woundwort. Primrose replaces the character of Hyzenthlay from the novel and film. Blackavar – A captive in Efrafa with Primrose who was rescued by the Watership Down rabbits.
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Campion sees that Woundwort's leadership is destroying Efrafa, but is torn between his feelings for the free ways of Watership Down and his loyalty to his chief rabbit. He met Blackberry and it was love at first sight, but he sacrificed himself to save his chief from a cave in. He survived, albeit horribly scarred, and was taken to Darkhaven, as was Blackberry soon after, and they sealed their love in Darkhaven and escaped to Watership Down. He fought in the last battle against Woundwort.
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For its historical use in wound healing particularly in the military it was called bloodwort, herbe militaris, knight's milfoil, staunchweed, and, from its use in the US Civil War, soldier's woundwort. Its use in either starting or stopping nosebleeds led to the common name nosebleed. For its association with the Evil One it was called bad man's plaything, devil's nettle, and devil's plaything. It was called old man's pepper due to its pungent flavor, while the name field hop came from its use in beer making in Sweden.
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This reserve () is a site on the top of the Cotswold scarp, which is one and a half miles north of Wotton-under-Edge. It was purchased by the Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust in 1972, primarily to safeguard one of the only two remaining British locations of limestone woundwort. It lies on Inferior Oolitic limestone and is part of a row of small narrow fields known locally as 'The Cupboards'. It lies between the Old London Road and the ancient Conygre Wood; the wood is on the steep-sloping scarp.
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50-52 It seems that fires occurred naturally over the ages, but there has not been a fire for two centuries, humans actively fighting against their propagation. The maximum age of the trees of the forest is 100 years, but certain pines have reached 500 years, being particularly inaccessible and thus spared by loggers. However, during the last 100 years, the forest has partially recovered the richness which characterizes old growth forests.p. 50-53 A wetland in the park In the coniferous forests, one can find several shrubs, of which the most common are blue whortleberry (), lingonberry (), and woundwort ().
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Although the marsh woundwort has little fragrance, it is very attractive to bumblebees. Nectar indicators guide the insect to probe into the centre of the flower and the anthers of the stamens and the pistils are correctly located for the insect to transfer pollen between flowers. The seeds of this plant disperse well, the dry fruit capsules float away and this probably why the plant is frequently found on the banks of lakes and other bodies of water. It also spreads vegetatively by means of hollow tuberous root which can throw up shoots far from the original plant.
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Spartina – is one of Darkhaven's warrior does. She was chosen by Woundwort to trick the Watership Down rabbits into thinking that she is their friend, so she may spy on them and to find the location of their warren. However while she was there, Silverweed managed to see through her guise with his powers and she confessed everything to Hazel and the others, as she is beginning to have feelings for Bigwig. She returned to Darkhaven, in order to save Blackberry from being killed by Granite (under her orders), but she is soon held prisoner along with her.
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Tansy beetles are herbivorous and primarily use tansy (Tanacetum vulgare) as their host plant. The species has, however, also been recorded consuming a wider range of food plants including Lycopus europaeus (gipsywort), Stachys palustris (marsh woundwort), Achillea ptarmica (sneezewort), Mentha aquatica (water mint), Mentha rotundifolia (false apple mint), as well as other species of the genera Chrysanthemum, Scutellaria, and Artemisia. The subspecies C. graminis santonico is associated with Artemisa caerulescens. The tansy plant naturally contains a number of volatile components including 1,8-cineole, trans-thujone, camphor and myrtenol, with the quantities and proportions of each varying seasonally and from plant to plant.
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In July 2014, it was announced that the BBC would be airing a new animated series based on the book and in April 2016 that the series would be a co-production between the BBC and Netflix, consisting of four one-hour episodes, with a budget of £20 million. The four episode miniseries premiered on the BBC and Netflix on 23 December 2018, with the voices of James McAvoy as Hazel, John Boyega as Bigwig, and Ben Kingsley as General Woundwort. It received generally positive reviews, with praise for the performances of its voice cast, but receiving criticism for its tone and the quality of the computer animation.
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9 February Species seen: flowers (viper's bugloss, birds-foot trefoil, restharrow, hedge woundwort, marsh cinquefoil), toads, sandhoppers, water vole, puffins, Arctic terns, kittiwakes, shags and guillemots. For the last in the series, Oddie visited the "last county before Scotland", which held memories for him as he walks past the house that used to be Monks House Bird Observatory (you can read about his experiences there in Bill Oddie's gone Birding). It was while staying here that Oddie discovered Hauxley Nature Reserve, where the owner of the Observatory showed him a variety of plantlife. Plants such as viper's bugloss, which has been used to cure snake bites, and restharrow, named because of its habit of seizing up the plough's harrow.
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Following the basic plot of the novel, Watership Down follows the lives of a group of rabbits as they leave their endangered warren in search of a safe new home. They travel across the English countryside, braving perilous danger, until they find a hill called Watership Down, where they begin a new warren. However, they are endangered by another warren, Efrafa, which is led by the authoritarian General Woundwort, and they are soon forced to defend their home and lives. Although the first series began with elements taken from the original novel, later episodes within it as well as the second and third series were almost entirely new content, with many episodes focusing solely on new characters and situations.
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Pipkin – A very young, adventurous rabbit eager to prove himself in the eyes of his bigger companions—particularly Hazel and Bigwig. He is the youngest of the Watership Down rabbits and has the gift of making friends with everyone including other animals in the Down area, to the point that when he is in trouble they will immediately join together with the Watership Down rabbits to come to his rescue. Even General Woundwort found he was not immune to Pipkin's charm and refused to kill him, saying that it would be like killing a part of himself. During the last season Pipkin grows up to be a responsible rabbit, even leading the 'Junior Owsla'.
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Watership Down was voiced by many familiar faces in British film and television. John Hurt, the voice of Hazel in the film, returned this time as the voice of General Woundwort, and Richard Briers, the voice of Fiver in the film, appeared in the series as Captain Broom. Dawn French, Jane Horrocks, Stephen Fry, Phil Jupitus and Rik Mayall all provided voices, as Buttercup, Hannah, Cowslip, Dandelion and Kehaar, respectively. To a lesser extent, the late former Boyzone member Stephen Gately, who performed the re-working of "Bright Eyes", provided the voice of Blackavar, and comedy actor Stephen Mangan provided the voice of Bigwig and later, Silverweed, replacing Tim McInnerny who provided Silverweed's voice for one episode in Series 1.
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The vegetation of the Beltingham River Shingle is a sparse mix of spring sandwort (Minuartia verna), alpine pennycress (Thlaspi alpestre), mountain pansy (Viola lutea), thrift (Armeria maritima), common scurvy grass (Cochlearia officinalis) and sea campion (Silene maritima), with meadow oat- grass (Avenula pratensis), wild thyme (Thymus praecox), biting stonecrop (Sedum acre) and harebell (Campanula rotundifolia). Lichens found at the site include dog lichen (Peltigera canina) and reindeer lichen (Cladonia rangiformis). A woodland has developed on finer alluvial deposits containing alder (Alnus glutinosa) and willow (Salix spp.) with some birch (Betula sp.), elm (Ulmus glabra) and sycamore (Acer pseudoplatanus) and Scot’s pine (Pinus sylvestris). Wooded areas exhibit ground-cover of dog’s mercury (Mercurialis perennis), wild angelica (Angelica sylvestris), red campion (Silene dioica), hedge woundwort (Stachys sylvatica), moschatel (Adoxa moschatellina) and wood sage (Teucrium scordonia).
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Aquatic plants includes reed, club-rush, wood club-rush, broadleaf cattail, flowering rush, water hemlock, yellow iris, yellow loosestrife, bittersweet, yellow water-lily, white water-lily, broad-leaved pondweed, red pondweed, whorled water-milfoil, amphibious bistort, water-soldier, frogbit, duckweed, greater bladderwort, and greater duckweed. Along the shores of the lake are hybrid crack willow, alder, bay willow, grey willow, aspen, ash, purple- loosestrife, marsh fern, wild angelica, marsh woundwort, gypsywort, creeping spearwort, marsh cinquefoil, marsh-marigold, bittersweet, skullcap, corn mint, meadowsweet, trifid bur-marigold, and purple small-reed. An inventory of dragonflies in the north-eastern end of the lake documented a presence of red- eyed damselfly, northern damselfly, azure damselfly, brown hawker, club-tailed dragonfly, downy emerald, and four-spotted chaser. Fishes present in the lake include smelt, pike, roach, rudd, tench, bleak, silver bream, carp bream, crucian carp, burbot, perch, zander, and ruffe.
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In a much later documentary about the series, I Claudius: A Television Epic (2002), Hurt revealed that he had originally declined the role when it was first offered to him, but that series director Herbert Wise had invited him to a special pre-production party, hoping Hurt would change his mind, and that he was so impressed by meeting the rest of the cast and crew that he reversed his decision and took the role. Hurt appeared in the 1978 film Midnight Express, for which he won a Golden Globe and a BAFTA and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor (the latter of which he lost to Christopher Walken for his performance in The Deer Hunter). Around the same time, he lent his voice to Ralph Bakshi's animated film adaptation of Lord of the Rings, playing the role of Aragorn. Hurt voiced Hazel, the heroic rabbit leader of his warren in the film adaptation of Watership Down (both 1978) and later played the major villain, General Woundwort, in the animated television series version.
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