About 250 metres south east of the main car park in Brede High Woods I discovered a substantial dry ditch running through the broadleaf plantation to the north of the footpath.
In this picture it runs from the right hand lower corner to the top centre, but is rather obscured by brambles and leaves.
It might be a drainage ditch put in when this part of the area was afforested in the middle of the last century, or it might have been made much earlier.
Some interesting ferns grow on the banks including the soft shield-fern (Polystichum setiferum) below. This is similar to the male fern I wrote about yesterday, but the leaves are softer and matt. There are also clear differences in the shape of the leaflets and the spore cases.
