Still no Swifts but at last I have seen the first signs of
the Hawthorne blossom in my garden. The May Flowers will soon be putting on a
spectacular display along the Atlantic Highway, a snowy white corridor, a
magical gateway to Bideford Bay and the Hartland Heritage Coast. This is a
perfect time for a walk in the countryside or a chance to explore an ancient
woodland. By the middle of the merry month of May the leaves on the trees are a
stunning vivid green, translucent in the sunlight, perfect, for a while at
least, before the rain and the wind tarnishes them. The wonder of an ancient
woodland, year after year the wild flowers return carpeting the ground, path
verges and banks. The signs are there for all to see in early Spring, Snowdrops, Alexanders,
Primroses, Dandelion, Yellow Pimpernel, Dogs Mercury, Herb Robert and Lesser Celandine.
These are followed by Bluebells, Bugle, Cuckoo Flower, Speedwell, Wood Anemone, Red Campion,
Greater Stitchwort, Woodruff, Dog Violet, Common Sorrel, Early Spotted Orchid, Creeping
Buttercup and carpets of Ramsons. At this time of the year "In the Greenwood" it's fun to identify the trees by the shape of their pristine leaves Oak, Beech, Hazel, Hawthorn, Blackthorn, Holly, Mountain Ash, Willow and more. Fighting for space in the woodland floor are a mass of upwardly mobile ferns, a host of rare grasses, lichens and maybe some fungi clinging to a fallen moss-laden tree. So much to see so enjoy your woodland WALK, WATCH & LISTEN
LOCAL WOODLAND WONDERS - WALK, WATCH & LISTEN
- Discover RSPB Reserve Chapel Wood,two miles north of Braunton
- Discover Hartland Abbey Gardens and Woodland Walk to the Sea
- Visit the Woodland Trust website to find a wood near you
- Discover Devon Wildlife Trust's Marsland Nature Reserve near Hartland
- Explore Marsland near Hartland with TV Presenter and Naturalist Nick Baker
- Become a Nature Recorder - Record what you've seen on Nature's Calender
- How to identify Woodland Birds
