I've earned my rest....

Today I went walking with a friend in Woodhall Dean Nature Reserve which is run by the Scottish Wildlife Trust. It is an ancient semi-natural woodland dominated by sessile oak growing along three burns that join to form Woodhall Burn in East Lothian, south of Spott Village. It is an example of a now rare habitat that dominated Scotland 5,000 years ago. Whilst a number of the trees are dead and dying there is sufficient new growth to maintain its wild habitat.

Initially we followed a wide path that ran up from the car park, then struck out over open ground and ended up in ploughed fields. By this time we realised we had come the wrong way and retraced our steps hopefully heading to nearby woodland. We eventually found the ancient woodland but had to climb down a steep brackenny slope on hands and knees to reach the path which ran along side a stream. I somehow failed to tell my friend that one the rare species found in this woodland was the adder but hoped that after such a raw and prolonged winter they were unlikely to show themselves.

After the detour the walk in the woods was delightful, up and down as you are heading to the confluence of two or three streams but nothing too strenuous. I guess the age of the woods showed in the amount of apparently dead trees around but you can never be sure until the leaves have sprouted. However, the tree I chose for my blip was most definitely dead.

It is a circular walk for part of the way and when we followed the path onward from where we had joined it, we found it returned us straight to the corner of the car park so I felt a bit of a fool. However, without a bit of adventure you never feel you have reached the really wild places !