A Walk in the Woods
(with local botanist Sarah Eno)

We ambled through the Whitrig and Chirnton parts of the estate woodland, finding a very varied mix of ash, oak, alder, birch and lots of new planting of native species, including aspen (populus tremula), cherry, willow, rowan, hazel, oak and lime. We met many trees of great character, including a silver fir, likely to be 200 years or so old. In Chirnton we saw the occasional animal track – deer or badger perhaps?

This is a good time of year to see many species of sedge, grasses, ferns, mosses and wild flowers. Nice finds were the northern marsh orchid, sweet woodruff, stitchwort, bugle, the marsh and the melancholy thistle. How intriguing some namings are. We saw eco systems at work on various scales, nature showing her ability to re-colonise; for example, mossy beds on fallen trees, creating sites for many seeding plants, also the great root system of an ancient scots pine, playing host to many plants. The pignut is a sign of grass unaffected by fertiliser – a rare find nowadays.

The atmosphere varied from warm, damp fragrance (especially from the May blossom) to the cool, damp, resinous quality of the conifer area. In all, a very tranquil landscape, a rare and precious natural asset.