Wood webs

This was inside another throne tree, about which more in a minute.

I only saw the web when I was photographing a ransom. This is wild garlic and you can smell the scent. This wood was absolutely full of it. I wish I'd picked some.

As for the tree, it was an old stool that had grown up most graciously.

I lay back against the stem to the right of the middle picture and just listened to the sounds of the wood. When the wind blew, this stem moved gently, a lullaby rock.

In the same wood I saw an ash with the most incredible cankers.

I've seen these on birches and oaks, but not one so huge on an ash as far as I can recall.

This wood has been classified as Ancient Woodland, but there were no really old trees in it. Big patches were overgrown hazel coppice. Parts look like they had once hosted spruces. The conifers either fell or were grubbed out - a lot of very old dead wood in these areas, which the primroses seemed to appreciate - and there remained a few self seeded spruces. The ashes all seemed to have die back with the larger ones notably suffering and the oaks on the whole weren't entirely happy either - though no sign of acute oak decline.

Yet the ground flora was lovely - ramsons, bluebells and primroses. No doubt others that I just don't recognise.

I saw one muntjac running away, spotted a jay and heard many song birds.

I also got lost. Very lost. In places, I had to crawl through the hazel and trying to find navigable routes caused me to lose my sense of direction. Eventually, I used the compass on the phone and tried to head north, which eventually took me out of the wood to where there was another I needed to look at - the one with the kites, about which I posted yesterday.

To get back to the car, I had to go back through the wood. This time I followed the rides and my only problem was getting out at the other end. Who says a trespasser's life is easy?