There and Back

Friday started dull and misty (again) despite a forecast of sunshine, so we delayed going out until 10:30 when we headed for the Forest of Dean. Had a bit of a wander along the Sculpture trail before heading to Beechenhurst Lodge for lunch and a coffee. Beechenhurst Lodge (formerly the site of Speech House Colliery, closed around 1906) is now the ideal base for a family day out, the sculpture trail being only of many family orientated activities you can pursue from here. Very difficult to visualise the area once being an active coal area. Freckled Dapperling (Lepiota aspera) We had hoped to see more fungi in the forest as well as more Autumn colours, so it was a bit disappointing to find almost no fungi, apart from this one. As for autumn colours, they were not as apparent as at home. Dor beetle (Geotrupes vernalis) spotted by Rosey. It is a beetle neither of us had photographed before.  Since 1984 The Forest of Dean Sculpture Trust has raised fun...

There is a certain appeal in woodlands this time of year, as the forest floor hides many fungi. With this in mind, we booked into a Cabin, not too far from Sherwood Forest. We saw many fungi, and below are just a few of them. Our cabin nestling among the trees  Dusky puffball (Lycoperdon nigrescens)  Blackening Waxcap (Hygrocybe cornica  Web Cap (Cortinarius varius)  The interior of the cabin where we stayed. The site was a pleasant one, and the cabin spacious but above all the hot tub!  Leopard Earthball (Sclceroderma areolatum) A tree stump that looked amazingly like the head of a dog.  Just liked the shapes of the trees and the light on the forest floor. Home

The New Forest is one of the largest remaining tracts of unenclosed pasture land, heath-land and forest in Southern England, covering southwest Hampshire and southeast Wiltshire. It was proclaimed a royal forest by William the Conqueror, featuring in the Domesday Book. Pre-existing rights of common pasture are still recognised today, being enforced by official verderers. In the 18th century, the New Forest became a source of timber for the Royal Navy. It was here that we were to spend a week, exploring the forest itself, and some places not too far away. What we needed was good weather! Being Autumn, the forest floor was, in many places, covered in a colourful carpet of fallen leaves. ... such as this area. I had this tree down as the oldest in the forest. It was fenced off from the path, so may be it was! Another view of the colourful forest floor. Pigs foraging (or resting) in the forest. During the autumn months, it’s not an uncommon sight to see...