The Balfour~Browne Club

The Club was set up in 1976 and is named after Professor Frank Balfour-Browne, who pioneered field studies and biological recording in general, and did so much to promote the study of water beetles.

The Club functions as an international study group, with yearly meetings, and maintains joint stewardship of the recording scheme with ACCT.

The Club produces a newsletter, Latissimus, some recent issues of which are available here.

The Club also now has a Facebook Page……..whatever next?

 

MEETINGS 2018 Just for once we are suggesting TWO meetings in one year, one rather more adventurous than the other. Check www.latissimus.org in due course.

Morocco, 1st week of April 2018

Through the kindness of Nard Bennas we can offer the possibility of the Balfour-Browne Club in Africa! The current plan is for six days in early April, starting at Tangier Ibn Battuta Airport, initially assembling as a group at or near the airport on Saturday 31 March 2018. One possible tour is:

Day 1: Airport Tanger, rent cars and drive to Tanger –Tetouan 60 km – accommodation: Chems Hotel and other possibilities

Day 2: Tetouan – Bou Hachem  Natural Park – 40 km – overnight Hotel Parador, Chefchaouen or similar. Gala Dinner

Day 3: Rent 4×4 and spend the day in Talassemtane  National Park – overnight Chefchaouen again

Day 4: Chefchaouen-Bab Taza, Fifi – Bab Berred- 66 km – overnight Chefchaouen

Day 5: Chefchaouen –Tanger – overnight in Tanger

Day 6: return home.

If you interested in this trip please tell either Nard (nbennas@hotmail.com) or the editor (latissimus@btinternet.com). Those contemplating ferries from Spain rather than flying should contact Andrés Millán (acmillan@um.es) as it may be possible to share transport.

More Details:

31 March- 6 April 2018
Chefchaouen and Morocco are perfect for the 2018 Balfour Browne meeting 2018 due to the friendly character of their habitants, the beauty of the surrounding landscapes and, most importantly, the high diversity of their aquatic ecosystems (rivers, lakes, lagoons, peat bogs, springs, salines, rookpools, etc..).

Preliminary program

Day 1.
31 March 2018
Arrival at Airport Tanger Boukhalef, car rental and trip Tanger –
Tetouan (60 Km)
Accommodation depending on the hour of arrival (to be arranged
individually)
Tanger if too late to drive to Tétouan
Tétouan :Chems Hotel or other possibilities

Day 2:
1 April 2018
Tetouan – BouHachem Natural Park (40 km)
Hotel Parador Chefchaouen or other possibilities
Gala Diner

Day 3
2 April 2018
Rent 4×4 and spend the day in Talassemtane National Park
Overnight in Chefchaouen

Day 4
3 April 2018
Chefchaouen-Bab Taza, Fifi, -Bab Berred- 66 Km
Overnight in Chefchaouen

Day 5
4 April 2018
Chefchaouen –T anger, salines and roockpools in Azila, and Tanger
Overnight in Tanger

Day 6
5 April 2018
Return home

How to get there

TANGIER AIRPORT – TETOUAN OR CHEFCHAOUEN
Plane: the closest airportis in Tangier (110 km from Tétaouen, 120’ by road).
Transport to Tétouan or Chefchaouen can be done by bus or taxi, both at low fares, or renta car in the airport.

Bus: Buses are available from Tangier center to Tétouan or Chefchaouen (4 euros).
However, a taxi is needed from the airport to Tangier center (10 euros).

Taxi: two taxis are needed to arrive to Chefchauen; a first taxi from the airport to
Tangier center (10 euros), and a second one, from Tangier to Chefchaouen (70 euros).
The organizers can arrange that participants with similar arrival times share taxis to
reduce costs.

Ferry: ferries crossing the Strait of Gibraltar are also available for participants that want to travel in their ownvehicles. Ferries depart from Algeciras and Tarifa (southernSpain) to Tangier-Med or Tanger medina (Morocco).

For more information on how to get to Tétouan or Chefchouen please, contact us.

Accommodation

Tétouan

Hôtel Chems, Hotel Prestige, Hotel A44,
Room in traditional houses can also be arranged, with prices around 50-100
Euro/day. For more information, contact : nbennas@hotmail.com

Chefchaouen

There are more than 50 hotels and hostels in Chefchaouen, thus there are many
alternatives. We suggest two hotels/hostels with different categories and prices:
Hotel Parador, 4 star hotel. Standard double room 44 Euro/night. Many
commodities such as air-conditioned, Wi-Fi, swimming pool, etc.
Hotel Koutoubia, 1 star hotel, located in the heart of the Medina and featuring a
traditional Moroccan design. Double room 25 Euro/night, triple room 40 Euro/night (with Moroccan breakfast) [few rooms available]

County Kerry, Ireland 8-11 June 2018

Our second meeting will be based in the south-west of Ireland in the town of Killorglin, the home of the Puck Fair, an arcane festival involving a goat suspended in the middle of the town and comely maidens. We will, however, not be there at that time so you will just have to imagine it. The area is varied with diverse range of habitats including many upland and lowland lakes and ponds, rivers and streams, bogs and poor fens and coastal wetlands including dune slacks and saltmarsh. It is within easy reach of Killarney National Park which was very well known to early 20th century entomologists. One area close to Killorglin is Glencar which includes some of the best birch woodlands and river habitat in Ireland. This is where the White Prominent Moth (Leucodonta bicoloria (Denis & Schiffermüller)) was rediscovered after more that 70 years without a record, and several of the supposedly extinct species of Irish water beetles disappeared in the area. Also worth a visit are the dunes at Inch and Castlegregory on the Dingle Peninsula and the southern part of the Ring of Kerry (Iveragh) Peninsula.  If interested contact brian.nelson@ahg.gov.ie.

Following the outbreaks of Crayfish Plague in 2017 we may need to take special precautions, for example sterilising equipment and avoiding certain areas.