A Cold but Sunny Walk

It was a cold sunny morning and we drove across the Forest to the High Corner Inn. We Haven't walked here for a while so it made a change. You walk down the little lane and then after crossing the little bridge at Woodford Bottom , you come out onto the open heathland and climb up the hill to walk along the ridge, before descending back down to Dockens Water by Splash bridge. We then followed the little stream back to the Inn.

Its Windy

It was very breezy this morning. We went to the High Corner Inn to start our walk. It is a very short walk from here to Broomy Inclosure. This is one of the few places in the forest where the Bluebells are prolific and can be photographed. They smelt heavenly and the sun came out long enough for a few photos. The trees are at their best now, dressed in their fresh green leaves. We then left the Inclosure and walked along the banks of Dockens Water, before returning to the Inn. On our way home we stopped off at Cadman's Pond to see the ducks. Still no sign of any goslings, but we will keep checking.

From The High Corner Inn in search of bluebells

This Morning we went to High Corner Inn and walked down to Broomy Inclosure, to see if the bluebells were out. In parts of the forest they are flowering. However here they were few and far between, but there were lots of wood anenomes. These flowers close their petals at night and legend has it that this is because the faiies sleep wrapped up in them. We then left the Inclosure to walk along Dockens Water to Splash Bridge. It is only a couple of weeks since our last visit here , but it looked so different now the trees have their leaves. We found a few Marsh Marigolds growing in the stream.
Although it was a little damp and misty we decided to climb Hallickshole Hill, before making our way back to the car via Woodford Bottom. Half way up the hill the dogs disturbed a herd of fallow deer and they ran quite close to us , but somehow I managed to miss them in the photo! The Cuckoo was calling all the time and letting us know he was watching us!
We will be back in a couple of weeks to see if the Bluebells are out.

Enjoying the Spring Sunshine

This morning was a perfect Spring morning. warm sunshine and just the slightest of breezes.We drove down to the High Corner Inn. This is a 17Century Inn, the only way to get there is to drive about 3/4 mile down a gravel track. the setting is beautiful and it is a good place to start a walk. We decided to stroll along the banks of Dockens Water and look for primroses. It took a while but eventually we spotted some. It was such a lovely day we continued to stroll along the water, whilst the dogs had fun splashing in and out. Once we saw a Roe deer hoping off in the distance. All around the birds were singing and we saw the Yellow brimstone butterflies flitting about, but never staying still for a photo. Eventually we left the stream and strolled back through the woods. We saw the young bluebell shoots were pushing through the ground, but it is still a little early for many of our spring flowers.