I remember walking through it with my parents as a child, past mysterious signs saying "Station 7" and these massive flappy things for beating out fires - they don't have those any more - and then suddenly we stopped going. I never went again for years and years.
It never left my life however. In my teenage years it became the venue for illegal raves my friends went to, but I never did. I was always hoping to get a secret invite, it would mean I was one of the cool kids. I so nearly did once.
Nearly. But never.
More recently, it became notorious, and still is, for dodgy evening "adult" activites. I'd rather have the raves, to be honest.
More recently, I wanted to visit it for my nature activities, but always thought it was too far away to run to, and too dangerous to cycle to. Luckily, I found that it wasn't, and resumed visiting last year.
It's not that big a wood, but it has a lot of memories, and I intend to explore it much more seriously this year. Even found a little cycle track to ride on yesterday!
Si
All text and images copyright CreamCrackeredNature 01.04.16
Looks a nice woodland to visit - look forward to hearing more of the wildlife you see there on future trips.
ReplyDeleteThere are roe deer, raptors, and lots of fungi too I should imagine.
DeleteWith a bike like that you certainly qualify as one of the cool kids now! It's amazing where you can get to on a bike if you're persistent enough.
ReplyDelete45 quid from a roadside bike man! Good brand though Rockrider - they are made by Decathlon!
DeleteMy oh my ... you've got some good pictures here.
ReplyDeleteI especially like the third one.
Have a good weekend
All the best Jan
Thanks very much Jan!
DeleteOh Si, this brought back such memories - we used to go there many years ago when I was a child. It was a special outing at least once a year.
ReplyDeleteLooks like a lovely wander out, love those sun-flares too, makes me hopeful for summer! Lovely shots. - Tasha
ReplyDeleteThanks Pat and Natasha, like I said I have more serious exploration to do there
ReplyDeleteLooks like potential for butterflies and interesting beetle folk there, Si.
ReplyDeleteWonderful trees, it must be to walking in the forest.
ReplyDeleteLooks like an interesting wood, with promising habitat for butterflies and fungi :-)
ReplyDeleteI've been later in the year and the path margins and brambles bring in a lot of peacock. Dragonfly too. I've not hunted fungi yet, might have a go before it gets too warm
ReplyDeleteIt looks like a lovely woodland
ReplyDelete