woodland wanderings

I’ve been taking advantage of the recent sunshine to go on a couple of local adventures. The first was to Moss Valley woodlands, one of the local Wildlife Trust reserves. You might remember that I’m trying to work my way around all twelve, and this is now the fifth that I’ve visited.

We left it rather late in the day, and the sun was setting.

I hadn’t realised this woodland was in a valley (although thinking about it, the clue was in the name…), so we missed the best of the light, which was just catching the tops of the trees.

This is a small woodland, near a busy dual carriageway, although you wouldn’t know it once you got in there.

The ground was carpeted with bluebells, and I can’t wait to visit again in a few weeks when they’re flowering. What a sight that will be!

We didn’t stay long – it was cool out of the sun and the woods felt a little gloomy in the fading light. I can see from the map that the valley extends far beyond where we got to. But I’m always glad of a new local adventure, and I’m pleased to have ticked another nature reserve off my list.

The second new place I visited was Beeley Woods. I was on a group cycle ride, with 24 women (don’t worry, we stuck to off road cycle paths and tiny quiet side streets, and were very considerate!).

It was a leisurely ride – it took us just under four hours to cover 12 miles, what with waiting for people and hanging around in tea shops.

The woods were quiet, and we bimbled along, chatting and watching a couple of dippers following us along the river.

We were only in the woods a short time, and only really skirted the edge, but the sunlight was pretty and the river burbled along and all was right with the world. I’ll go back to explore more one day.

Have you visited anywhere new in your area lately?