There is a sizeable woodland not far from me that is owned by the Home Office, it is known locally simply as the ''Prison Woods''. I have walked it fairly regularly for over thirty years, and yesterday saw me spending the day in and around the area in glorious weather so I thought Id post it for members. The wood is not officially public but the Home Office let people wander around it and notice boards advise they have no objection to the public walking it. The wood is not managed in any way at all and is neglected and left for nature to do whatever it wants but is still lovely to walk. Here is my day out (all pics taken on cheapo mobile phone sorry as i don't own a proper camera) :-
To actually get to the wood I walk a public footpath along a stream from a road bridge, along the way there is a little corner of a field where a fellow cuts logs and makes chainsaw carvings, this is what was in his little yard today
Just past the carvings in a little cutting on the stream I saw a deer and a boar, plastic ones, somebody been taking target practice.
The stream enters the prison woods and i continued walking along the stream for a while. The stream itself is a delight to walk and is bordered by a carpet of masses of wild garlic and wood anemones.
This is a regular spot where muntjac cross the stream and I saw one there yesterday, in fact their footprints can be found all along the stream, they are very numerous in the area.
You can often find flattened areas in the wild garlic beds where the deer lie down, this is one such spot I saw yesterday and its where I saw the muntjac.
Leaving the stream I went to check on a couple of nearby fields on the side of the wood, these fields are ancient meadows, in the summer they are alive with lots of wild flowers and its a real delight to see, too early yet to see it in full glory. In summer the field is covered with dozens of spotted orchids and yellow rattle and lots of other various wild flowers There is a bank on the field edge where Dyers Greenwood grows, as the name suggests it used to be used as a dye.
Returning to the wood I decided to take a brew and a bite to eat and the stream has many little sand and shingle beaches where its perfect to sit and relax for a while, so after grabbing a few dead sticks out came my little hobo stove. Lots of wild garlic was within arms length of where I sat and a few leaves were added as a garnish to my cheese sandwiches.
The sharp-eyed may have spotted a woodpecker hole downstream from where I sat, these little streams get loads of trees fall across them which sometimes blocks them, this one such example caught my eye because of the woodpecker hole.
Refreshed I wandered around the wood for a bit looking at various animal tracks, there are quite a few fallow deer and loads of muntjac in the woods, I took quite a few photos of fallow and muntjac tracks but sadly most were out of focus when i checked them at home and unfit for posting, heres a couple anyway, fallow first and muntjac second, shame the muntjac is out of focus as it would have been an interesting one as its in a near vertical bank and you can see both front and back foot.
There is a disused railway that runs through part of the wood which has some interesting history. Where the stream runs through the wood there is a deep steep-sided cutting. A viaduct was built in 1883 to carry the railway over this cutting, the viaduct was a rare example of what is called ''lattice girder on trestles'', it was built with a curve and was 220 yards long and about 100 foot high. The viaduct was dismantled in 1964 and all that remains now are the blue brick pillars that supported the viaduct and some scattered bricks and ironwork in the undergrowth. This is a photo of the viaduct still in use in 1955
another old pic of same
This photo taken yesterday is one of the remaining pillars, lots of blue bricks and old ironwork in the undergrowth.
The railway embankment and disused line is now very overgrown, however I sometimes scramble to the top of the old viaduct as it gives lovely views over the wood and countryside. It is also a great vantage point to watch the fallow deer with a birds-eye view, they can often be seen in the area around the embankment and they scramble to the top of it themselves. Yesterday I found some fallow deer hair where one had been lying down right on top of the old viaduct pillar.
A last look before returning home after an enjoyable day, the view over part of the wood and countryside from the top of the old viaduct. ATB
To actually get to the wood I walk a public footpath along a stream from a road bridge, along the way there is a little corner of a field where a fellow cuts logs and makes chainsaw carvings, this is what was in his little yard today
Just past the carvings in a little cutting on the stream I saw a deer and a boar, plastic ones, somebody been taking target practice.
The stream enters the prison woods and i continued walking along the stream for a while. The stream itself is a delight to walk and is bordered by a carpet of masses of wild garlic and wood anemones.
This is a regular spot where muntjac cross the stream and I saw one there yesterday, in fact their footprints can be found all along the stream, they are very numerous in the area.
You can often find flattened areas in the wild garlic beds where the deer lie down, this is one such spot I saw yesterday and its where I saw the muntjac.
Leaving the stream I went to check on a couple of nearby fields on the side of the wood, these fields are ancient meadows, in the summer they are alive with lots of wild flowers and its a real delight to see, too early yet to see it in full glory. In summer the field is covered with dozens of spotted orchids and yellow rattle and lots of other various wild flowers There is a bank on the field edge where Dyers Greenwood grows, as the name suggests it used to be used as a dye.
Returning to the wood I decided to take a brew and a bite to eat and the stream has many little sand and shingle beaches where its perfect to sit and relax for a while, so after grabbing a few dead sticks out came my little hobo stove. Lots of wild garlic was within arms length of where I sat and a few leaves were added as a garnish to my cheese sandwiches.
The sharp-eyed may have spotted a woodpecker hole downstream from where I sat, these little streams get loads of trees fall across them which sometimes blocks them, this one such example caught my eye because of the woodpecker hole.
Refreshed I wandered around the wood for a bit looking at various animal tracks, there are quite a few fallow deer and loads of muntjac in the woods, I took quite a few photos of fallow and muntjac tracks but sadly most were out of focus when i checked them at home and unfit for posting, heres a couple anyway, fallow first and muntjac second, shame the muntjac is out of focus as it would have been an interesting one as its in a near vertical bank and you can see both front and back foot.
There is a disused railway that runs through part of the wood which has some interesting history. Where the stream runs through the wood there is a deep steep-sided cutting. A viaduct was built in 1883 to carry the railway over this cutting, the viaduct was a rare example of what is called ''lattice girder on trestles'', it was built with a curve and was 220 yards long and about 100 foot high. The viaduct was dismantled in 1964 and all that remains now are the blue brick pillars that supported the viaduct and some scattered bricks and ironwork in the undergrowth. This is a photo of the viaduct still in use in 1955
another old pic of same
This photo taken yesterday is one of the remaining pillars, lots of blue bricks and old ironwork in the undergrowth.
The railway embankment and disused line is now very overgrown, however I sometimes scramble to the top of the old viaduct as it gives lovely views over the wood and countryside. It is also a great vantage point to watch the fallow deer with a birds-eye view, they can often be seen in the area around the embankment and they scramble to the top of it themselves. Yesterday I found some fallow deer hair where one had been lying down right on top of the old viaduct pillar.
A last look before returning home after an enjoyable day, the view over part of the wood and countryside from the top of the old viaduct. ATB
nice day out btloi
