Tags
bluebell, coppice, dog violet, Goldilocks Buttercup, great crested newt, Holly, Hornbeam, Hoverfly, lesser celandine, primrose, Reydon Wood, Suffolk, Suffolk Wildlife Trust, walk, water-violet, wild strawberry, Wood Anemone, woodland
Let me take you back in time to the end of April of this year. In preparing this post it has been strange looking through my early spring photographs while the leaves outside are falling from the trees and most of the flowers have gone.
Elinor and I had enjoyed our two previous walks in Halesworth and Beccles but this time we wanted to get away from people and buildings and into the woods. One of our favourite places is Reydon Wood which is cared for by the Suffolk Wildlife Trust. I have written posts about family walks in this wood a few times before but the last time we visited was about three years ago; how could we have left it that long?!
The weather was perfect, chilly but sunny and there hadn’t been any rain for quite a while so the paths were free of mud. Spring was cold and late this year so the first leaves were only just beginning to show on the trees. The wood was full of birdsong and we soon found any number of spring flowers in bloom. The light was strong and bright which was not conducive to good photography, for which I apologise.
Reydon Wood is quite small and would only take twenty minutes or so to walk round if one wasn’t interested in stopping and looking at anything. We heard a couple of women approaching from behind us and stood to one side as they walked past talking non-stop. We waited while the noise of their voices faded and birdsong re-established itself.
Reydon Wood is coppiced each year. Some of these trees are hundreds of years old and have been supplying wood for generations. Here is a link which explains what coppicing is. A copse is a wood which is or has been coppiced.
In this clearing is a large pond which is home to all sorts of interesting creatures and plants. The Great Crested Newt is Britain’s largest newt and has suffered in recent years due to habitat loss, especially by the infilling of ponds.
The Water Violet isn’t a violet at all, it is a member of the primrose family but the petals are a very pale lilac-colour which may be the reason for its common name. It is usually found in sheltered ditches and ponds with shallow clear water which is rich in calcium. Another name for it is Featherfoil because of its fine feathery leaves.
A spring-flowering buttercup. The whole plant, including the stems and the leaves, dies back by mid-summer. The flowers are usually deformed with petals missing and the upper leaves deeply cut.
We were extremely fortunate to have had such dry weather during the week before our walk. The paths had set like concrete and though they were uneven they were easier to walk on than if they had been wet!
With any luck I will be able to add to this short series of walks before Christmas!
John Hric said:
Thanks Clare. I never knew newts could do the cresting thing.
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Clare Pooley said:
Oh yes, John. These newts look very fine with their crests! Thank you for reading and commenting.
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willedare said:
Great to be reminded of SPRING as autumn leaves continue to fall here in Boston, MA, USA. I did not know that coppicing is something that some communities have been doing for centuries. Thank you for the link which described the practice. What a terrific, collaborative undertaking/practice/art! Hurrah for trees!!! And flowering plants!!! And this lovely blog post!!!
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you so much for your lovely comment, Will! This wood is a testament to the resilience of nature. In the 1950s most of the trees in the wood were felled and conifers were planted because the owner wanted more of a profit from his land. When the Suffolk Wildlife Trust bought the wood in the mid 1980’s it was sterile and dark. Fortunately the coppice stools hadn’t been destroyed and had begun to regrow among the pine trees. The conifers were felled and within a very short time the wood was a mass of flowers and animals, birds and insects had returned.
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cindy knoke said:
How fascinating it all is! I love the Great Crested Newt (especially the name!) Fun to walk with you and Elinor. My 94 year old mother is an Elinor too, but her parents spelled it Eleonore.
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you so much, Cindy. I love ‘Eleonore’! The Great Crested Newt is one of my favourites too. https://www.arc-trust.org/great-crested-newt
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Retirement Reflections said:
Stunning photos, Clare. Thank you for taking us along with you!
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you so much, Donna. I hope you are well?
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SueW said:
I do love a woodland walk and I enjoyed walking along behind you on this one. 🙂
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you very much, Sue. 🙂
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susanpoozan said:
Lovely woodland walk, I enjoyed all that green while we are going into winter.
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you so much, Susan. It is astonishingly green!
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margaret21 said:
As ever, a lovely walk to take with you. I did a double take when I saw your post title, as not many of us spell our daughters’ names Elinor, as in Dashwood, do they?
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you, Margaret. Yes, we are a select band – and yes, it was Dashwood and not Glyn or Brent-Dyer etc. that decided us.
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margaret21 said:
Good lass!
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Lisa G, said:
I always think of Elinor Dashwood when I you mention her. 🙂
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Clare Pooley said:
We were going to name our daughter Beatrice Elizabeth but we then went to see Sense and Sensibility with Emma Thompson and Kate Winslet and we changed our minds! She is Elinor Beatrice. This was many months before she was born – if she’d been a boy he would have been called Edmund William!
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Paula Bardell-Hedley said:
Thank you, Claire. It is a cold, dark day, so your post cheered me immensely. I look forward to accompanying you on your pre-Christmas walk. 😊
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you very much, Paula and I’m glad the spring photos dispelled the gloom!
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Clive said:
Thank you for taking us on this walk with you. Your photos are lovely and your knowledge shines through. I’m guessing that Elinor came with you this time on condition that you didn’t take a shot of her? 😉
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you very much, Clive. Haha! It all depends on what mood she’s in. Sometimes she is only too pleased to have a photo taken!
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Clive said:
But not this time 😂
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Clare Pooley said:
😀
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clivebennett796 said:
Lovely to be reminded of Spring again Clare. A beautiful wood.
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you so much, Clive. It is a wonderful wood, especially when I know that up until the mid 80’s the then owner had planted it with conifers and it was completely sterile! Fortunately he hadn’t grubbed up the coppice stools which had continued to grow in amongst the pines.
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Jill Weatherholt said:
Beautiful photographs, Clare. Thanks for taking us along on this lovely walk. I hope you and your family are doing well.❤️
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Clare Pooley said:
It is my pleasure and thank you very much, Jill. Yes we are all well as I hope you and Derek are xoxo ❤
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Jill Weatherholt said:
We are…thank you! xo
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Clare Pooley said:
xoxo
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wholelottarosie said:
It is November, the leaves are falling, there are only a few flowers in bloom and there are long shadows in the sun. It gets quieter in nature. Christmas is coming soon and the earth will be covered with snow.
How nice it is to be reminded of spring!
Dear Clare, thanks for this nice blog post and the beautiful photographs !!!
Stay safe and sound, my dear friend ❤ ❤
Rosie from Germany
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you very much, dear Rosie. I think it is always good to be reminded of spring at this time of year. It gives us a little hope. I hope you are keeping well in these strange times ❤ ❤ ❤
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wholelottarosie said:
Thank You, Clare!
“Not the lucky ones are grateful.
It is the grateful who are happy. ”
Francis Bacon (1561-1626)
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Clare Pooley said:
A wonderful quotation, Rosie! ❤
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wholelottarosie said:
💝
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derrickjknight said:
A lovely walk. Maybe Covid brought about the delay. The light may have made it difficult to photograph the flowers, but it provided some wonderful long tree shadows.
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you very much, Derrick. I am sure that Covid had something to do with the delay. The shadows are really strong but I don’t remember noticing them at the time!
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reggie unthank said:
You’ve whetted our appetite for spring. Thank you Clare
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Clare Pooley said:
My pleasure and thank you very much, Reggie.
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Jane Sturgeon said:
What beautiful photographs, my lovely and thank you for sharing them. ❤ You highlight how fast time slips by. ❤ Much love and hugs flowing to you all. ❤ xXx ❤
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you so my my dear Jane and you are right about time slipping by. Where has this year gone?! I hope you are keeping safe and well especially during this stormy weekend. Hugs and love flowing to you, too ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤
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Jane Sturgeon said:
Gosh, yes, my lovely, time and this year has slipped right by. It has been so hectic. I hope you are all alright after the storm and your Mum? I will write to you soon, promise. Much love flowing to you all, always. ❤ xXx ❤ ❤
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Clare Pooley said:
We are all fine, thank you dear Jane. Fortunately, the storm hardly affected us. It was a little windy and we had some sleet, hail and rain but no damage at all and no lying snow. Mum is well and doing okay though upset about the death of her younger sister a few weeks ago. We attended her funeral in Kent on Friday. So much love flowing to you, too xxXXxx ❤ ❤ ❤
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Jane Sturgeon said:
I will write to you today, my love. ❤ ❤ ❤ xXx
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Clare Pooley said:
❤ ❤ ❤
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Richard Sutton said:
Where better than to be in a springtime wood. Thank you, Clare for sharing this local wood with us. I’m glad to see coppicing still being practiced.
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you very much, Richard. The volunteers work very hard keeping the wood looking good.
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bowlandclimber said:
A lovely, uplifting walk. Hope you have had more with the family.
I know what you mean about the silence, some people never stop talking and have no idea what they are missing in nature.
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you very much, and yes we have had a few more walks together though not as many as we should, perhaps!
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Andrea Stephenson said:
A lovely meander back to spring as the weather turns colder, thank you Clare!
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you very much, Andrea. It was a real pleasure to be reminded of spring!
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Genessa West said:
What a treat to look back on Spring. Beautiful photos of the wood. Its trees and flowers reawakening after their winter slumber. As ever Clare, you write so well. I really enjoyed “joining you” as you walked among the trees.
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Clare Pooley said:
My pleasure, Genessa and thank you for your kind comment. xx
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Laurie Graves said:
I, too, enjoyed the spring walk. As Derrick noted, even though the light was too harsh for flowers, it made the gave the green a beautiful glow.
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you so much, Laurie. I love the vibrant green we only get in springtime.
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Luanne said:
Your walk reminds me so much of my childhood in Michigan. Very similar. But I didn’t know the term coppice stool. I had to look it up! Thanks for taking me along with you!
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you so much, Luanne. I am so pleased you were reminded of the countryside of your childhood.
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navasolanature said:
Such a beautiful England woodland walk. Oh for those Spring eternal days but Autumn here in Aracena is glorious but the leaves fall too fast.
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you so much, Georgina. Most of the leaves have fallen from the trees now but the hedges still have a few. It is good to be reminded of spring at this time of year!
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New Hampshire Garden Solutions said:
Tomorrow they say we might reach 30 degrees F. here, so it was nice to see spring again Clare.
I enjoyed seeing the plants that we don’t have here like the water violet and the “wild” primroses.
I’m glad you had such a nice sunny day. Thank you for taking us along!
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Clare Pooley said:
My pleasure, Allen and thank you very much. Autumn is fast disappearing and the dark of winter is nearly upon us. Pictures of spring give us a little hope for the future.
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New Hampshire Garden Solutions said:
I agree. We had snow last night so spring has been on my mind.
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Clare Pooley said:
We have had sleet and snow today but it didn’t settle unlike other parts of the country.
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tootlepedal said:
A very good thing to be reminded of spring at this time of year when we need something to look forward to.
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you Tom. That is exactly how I feel!
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(Kitty) Cat Strawberry - Meow! said:
I’m sorry I think I’ve missed some of your previous posts, I’ve been so focused om my own blogging I’ve neglected visiting everyone elses. I’m so sorry.
These are such lovely pictures and I do love the pleating of those hornbeam leaves. I love textured detail in nature.
I’ve never thought of hoverflies as wearing sunglasses but it does look like that and a cute way of seeing it. 🙂
It looks like a lovely walk, and I do love all of your photos, I don’t know why you apologise, they all look so lovely. 🙂 ❤
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you so much for your kind comment and for taking the time to read my post, Cat ❤ It is a lovely walk though not so good at this time of year because of the mud! ❤
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Helen said:
I never realised holly trees could grow so tall!
What kind of trees does the wood have? Are all of them coppiced?
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Clare Pooley said:
Yes, that holly is enormous. I hadn’t realised that a holly’s branches swept downwards until I saw this one a few years ago. Most that I see are in hedges or people’s gardens and are well pruned. The woodland is mixed with many of our native trees in it and not all are coppiced. The trees that are coppiced are hazel, ash and hornbeam and they are cropped in rotation. Each time we visit the wood a different part of it is being coppiced so there are always areas that are fairly open with the stools having recently been coppiced and then areas that are very well grown and due to be coppiced soon. I think the stools are coppiced every 18 years so I expect the wood is divided up into 18 different sections.
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Helen said:
Thanks for your thorough answer, Clare. I wonder if the coppiced trees need 18 years to recover.
On the subject of hollies, I now remember seeing very tall, bushy ones in Sherwood Forest (as well as other places). However, their branches didn’t drop. Or maybe some did, but I can’t remember. Intriguing, anyway.
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Clare Pooley said:
If the trees are coppiced correctly it should only take them a short while to recover and then they do what most pruned plants do, they make new shoots. It takes about 18 years for these new shoots to grow to the correct length for them to be harvested again. The ‘poles’ are long and straight and can be used for a great many things.
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Helen said:
Thank you, Clare. That helps me plan what to do with my hazels.
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Lavinia Ross said:
A beautiful nature walk from spring, Clare! Thank you for taking readers along!
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Clare Pooley said:
My pleasure Lavinia and thank you very much.
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Lisa G, said:
That holly tree was a surprise to me – I think of the winter holly bush with dark leaves and berries. But I have read that the holly is the oldest tree – maybe in Peter Wohlleben’s book? I enjoyed your spring photos!
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you very much, Lisa. Yes, the well-grown holly is an enormous tree with branches that sweep downwards. They are native here and in ancient times were planted at boundaries.
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Ste J said:
I love the brightness, especially after all the snow today. As ever it is a pleasure to travel with you, especailly as you pick out all the little details that are so arresting.
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you so much, Ste J. We only had sleet and rain today so no settled snow just very wet and gloomy. My daughter in Sheffield had a lot of snow like you.
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Ste J said:
It was lovely, especially when not at work, although it plays havoc with the batteries on the electric buses.
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Jolandi Steven said:
It is good to be reminded that spring will always follow the cold and dark of winter. Hope you are well and warm, Clare.
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you, Jolandi. Yes we are well and warm, though outside is very icy after a day of sleet showers.
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bitaboutbritain said:
I thoroughly enjoy your walks, Clare. You pick up detail most of us miss and I for one wouldn’t know what I was looking at even if I saw it. The lesson is to slow down, look, listen – and learn from your wonderful articles! Sorry I haven’t visited for awhile – I struggle getting stuff out on ABAB most weeks! Best, Mike x.
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you so much for your kind comment, Mike. There is no need for apologies – as you no doubt saw when you read my posts, I haven’t been posting very often and I am extremely behind-hand with visiting and reading my friends’ blogs. Best wishes, Clare x
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Resa said:
Love all of the flower learning lessons.
The Hoverfly w/ sunglasses is the bee’s knees!
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you, so much, Resa! I hope you have a very happy Christmas xoxo
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Resa said:
Thank you, Clare! Hope Christmas was good for you, and have a Happy New Year! xoxo
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you, Resa xoxo
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Ari said:
Gorgeous photos as always, it’s always refreshing visiting your blog and seeing these stunning nature shots 🙂
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you so much, Ari! I really must try to post more this year 😀
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Ari said:
🙂
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