I love woodland in summer; how it's different each time you walk through it, and as it's the holidays, I can be as leisurely as I like, wandering around Bristol's urban woods. I've even found myself feeling happy on occasion, which is quite unprecedented.
I made a vow this summer to explore parts of the Frome and Trym valleys that I don't know, as well as the more familiar paths, and in the case of the Frome, it's been fascinating to see the extent to which it impacts the city's topography, even though for the most part it's invisible, either deep in its gorge or culverted.
Having tried twice before - and failed - to reach Bury hill fort at Frenchay from Winterbourne viaduct, I was really pleased to get there on a couple of occasions, once with Cwtch the collie, and once with Cwtch and my old friend, Liz.
stone stiles
The hill fort was constructed in the iron age, but earlier flint chippings and an axe head discovered there attest to earlier occupation of the area. Cwtch and I had a wander through the ditch between banks on our first visit, and saw two roe deer in their red summer coats, leaping through the bracken and brambles.
A couple of miles downstream are Lincombe Woods in Downend, through which a fork of the Frome runs down to the river. The Frome walkway is on the opposite side of the river at this point, but you can still walk a short way north-east, and south-west down to Frenchay bridge, at the top of Snuff Mills. First, though, a detour to nearby Britannia Woods, so called because in 1957, a prototype Bristol Britannia aircraft crashed there, with the loss of all of on board - fifteen people in total. There's a plaque commemorating the incident on the wall of Lincombe Barn.
There's a big dip in the wood, and I couldn't help wondering whether that was where the plane came down, though it's situated on a hillside anyway, so maybe not.
I'd been intending to visit for a long time, as there was a strange sort of family connection to this event, in the form of an anecdote my mother told about how she'd dreamt the Britannia crashed just a few days before it did. She a said she always felt guilty for not telling anyone the authorities, but of course it's highly doubtful anyone would have taken any notice of her. The strangest thing about this story is that my mother had no interest in the subconscious or the supernatural; it really was an aberration as far as her mindset was concerned.
Lincombe Woods
Where fork meets Frome
A piece of hoggin bolstering the path between Lincombe Woods and Frenchay bridge. More about hoggin later.
Frenchay bridge
Quarry in Oldbury Court estate
I've also been walking along paths on the opposite bank of the Frome from the tried and tested footpaths. It's funny to see familiar sites from childhood from a new angle.
Poor Cwtch was less impressed, as she mistook the leaves and dirt up against the barrier - you can just see it at the far end - for dry land and fell in the river.
'Can you please stop talking to that tree and get on with my walk?'
'No, cream first!'
School Lane, Stapleton
There were more familiar spots seen from the opposite bank from usual when we headed down the Begbrook to the Frome and walked as far as Glenfrome weir.
The island, covered in Himalayan Balsaam
Part of Glenfrome weir from the back
High above the Frome is Purdown, part of Stoke Park estate, and Cwtch and I have been up there a fair bit this summer, skulking in some of the less frequented parts of the wood on the hunt for moulted feathers.
Having just thought to myself how good it would be to add a few more Great Spotted Woodpecker feathers to my collection, I did come across a sparrowhawk predation site early one morning, with a full quota of twenty wing feathers, plus a few tail, feathers, and red head and rump feathers. A question of being careful what you wish for.
More about feathers later.
Autumn coming on apace
A felled ash refusing to die
Yum!
Strangely glittery purple poo
We've also been walking a lot at Blaise Castle, trying different starting points at he various entrances to the estate.
Tree on Castle Hill
Giant's Footprint
Bridge on the River Trym
Sheltering from torrential rain one Sunday morning
Knobbly roots
'Observe a tree' carving
Up on King's Weston Down
There are lots of Mr Bumps, painted by Bumpsy, in the local areas neighbouring Blaise, as well as on the estate. This one is near Henbury golf course.
Fewer flowers than earlier in the summer: here's (clockwise) yarrow; great burdock; fleabane; cuckoo pint; great willowherb, wtih escapees crocosmia and evening primrose; cyclamen; burnet-saxifrage; and ragwort as tall as me
fungi
Clockwise: the ladybirds were swarming mid-July in the hot, dry weather - I hadn't seen so many since the drought year of 1976, these on a stone in the middle of the River Frome; female beautiful demoiselle; hogweed with ladybird, red soldier beatle, narrow-barred fusehorn, large ectemnius and ichneumon sarcitorius; noctua pronuba; ladybird on great burdock; buff-tailed bumble
hoggin, which has been harder to spot than usual with the leaves falling early following the hot weather
MIDDLE ROW: 2 x buzzard, 2 x tawny, jay primary; magpie, tawny and blue tit; 2 x tawny, magpie, jay covert, buzzard; magpie and jay tail feather; 2 x magpie, 2 x jay tail feather, 2 x jay primary; jay tail feather; green woodpecker, jay tertial and tail feather, 2 x magpie; wren primary
BOTTOM ROW: tawny secondary and primary, green woodpecker, sparrowhawk, 4 x buzzard including primary and tail feather, 2 x jay primaries; 2 x jay tail feathers, buzzard, sparrowhawk and tawny; 3 x buzzard, 2 x magpie and a jay secondary; jay primary and covert, goldfinch and tawny; tawny and jay tail feather; magpie; jay tail feather
