{"id":4264,"date":"2019-03-31T12:33:11","date_gmt":"2019-03-31T11:33:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/rdnhs.org.uk\/blog\/?p=4264"},"modified":"2019-03-31T12:33:14","modified_gmt":"2019-03-31T11:33:14","slug":"pamber-forest-13-march-2019","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rdnhs.org.uk\/blog\/pamber-forest-13-march-2019\/","title":{"rendered":"Pamber Forest – 13 March 2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The wind outside was at gale\nforce, but within the shelter of Pamber Forest, all was relatively calm when\nJan and Laurie Haseler led a walk on Wednesday 13 March, starting from the Impstone\nRoad car park at Pamber Heath. Following heavy rain in the preceding days, many\nof the paths were muddy, but none were impassable. The walk started out through\nLord\u2019s Wood, crossed the first stream and followed a wide grassy ride\nwestwards. A shrubby Tutsan plant was found at the start of the ride, the\nwillows were covered in yellow blossom and Goldcrest, Nuthatch and Great\nSpotted Woodpecker were heard. The route then turned southwards along the main\nride which crosses the forest. The track climbed up to a heathy area with\nBilberry, Heather and Gorse, then dropped back down into oak woodland. Much\nmanagement work has taken place over the winter, with widely cleared ride margins\nand new areas of coppice. Alder Buckthorn bushes were growing back from\ncoppiced stumps. Two Wild Service-trees were inspected, their identity\nconfirmed by their distinctive leaves on the ground. The walk continued along a\nride which led to an open grassy clearing where there were clumps of Wood\nSpurge, then followed a narrow path through woodland, where a rotting branch\nstained turquoise green by the Green Elfcup fungus was found. There was standing\nwater next to the path in the second stream valley, with fresh new leaves of\nHemlock Water-dropwort, patches of Floating Sweet Grass and Water Mint and\nrosettes of Marsh Thistle leaves. The next path led to the south-west corner of\nthe forest where there was a splendid display of Wild Daffodils, with the\nflowers close to their peak. The route back led past a big fenced-off clearing where\nthere was a stand of tall Aspens. A Buzzard flew along the edge of the trees. Continuing\nback to the main ride, the group recrossed the second stream, then followed a\nnarrow path down the valley through oak woodland. The feathery leaves of Pignut\nand the first Primrose flowers were seen here and a Marsh Tit was heard. The\npath led past a coppice plot where the surrounding fence was draped with a\ncurtain of Honeysuckle. A gate led though to the extensive wood pasture area,\nwhere hoof prints and fresh dung indicated that the herd of Dexter cattle had\nbeen feeding recently. Frogspawn was seen in the pond here. The cattle were\neventually spotted in the field below Inhams Copse, with two Roe Deer in the\nwoods nearby. Back at the car park, the view over Silchester Common was\ndominated by the yellow of Gorse blossom. The walk was followed by lunch at the\nCalleva Arms in Silchester.<\/p>\n\n\n\n