The hut in the woods...

After spending much of the day wrangling with figures, until I was nearly seeing double, I escaped to a  nearby small village for a mooch around. I set off in sunshine, but before I arrived the grey clouds had drawn a veil over the sky, and there was a continuous threat of rain. 

I'd decided to combine plant recording with a hunt for some interesting doors and gates to photograph, and started off at the church, which was sweet but not very inspiring. I then followed a footpath sign down Lover's Lane (rather damp and muddy, and totally devoid of any humans, let alone lovers) where I found this derelict hut, opposite a small burial ground. I'm intrigued by the stone shapes above the door - would this have once been a guide hut? It doesn't look as though it's been used for a very long time...

On my meander round the village I was surprised to find three sizable clumps of butcher's broom, one of which was flowering (see extra). This is undoubtedly a garden escape, but was well established on a wooded disused railway line. It always confuses non-botanists, because the flowers and berries appear to grow on the leaves, but in fact the leaves are flattened stems known as cladodes, an adaptation to help reduce water loss.

I also found some rather lush clumps of limestone polypody, on a very well-vegetated and diverse stone wall and a single bee orchid rosette on a road verge. There's always something of interest to find, even on a dark and dank January day!