My first walk in Brede High Woods after a bad cold which has kept me indoors.
The woods were cold, wet and muddy, but there was much to see. Pools full of bright green water starwort and floating sweet-grass, wonderful displays of fern; mosses, lichens and even some unusual toadstools. And on the bank by the main car park a nearly opened flower bud on a barren strawberry plant.
It is a commonplace to long for spring at this time of the year, but there is much to enjoy in the woods that could easily be overlooked in the warmer months. The cold and the quiet is also a good antidote to the Christmas queues and other seasonal pressures.
Over the next few days I will talk about some of the things I discovered on this walk.
