Bluebells Arising

Spring is most definitely underway here in the UK, and the signs are all around us. In the Langdon Hills this means some superb swathes of bluebells are soon to carpet the ancient woodlands with blue, and sweetly scent the air. Some woods on the ridge put on their display of bluebells earlier than others due to aspect and other factors, but suffice to say that it will be well worth visiting the various woods over the next few weeks.

Here you can see the first bluebells emerging in Martinhole Wood in Langdon Hills Country Park, and the dense mat of bluebell plants on the ground here presage the plenitude of flowers yet to emerge. The presence of these flowers here, plus others such as lesser celandine and wood anemone, indicate the age of the woodland. Bluebells are protected by law, so please remember not to pick them... Take a photograph, it will last much longer anyway!

Essex Forest Fragments: Hatfield Coppice

Hazel Coppice in Hatfield Forest

This photo was taken in Hatfield Forest in Essex, a medieval royal hunting ground now owned and managed by the National Trust. This is a fragment of the Forest of Essex, that once covered most of the county. The site is over a thousand acres in size, and is managed using traditional techniques such as coppicing, pollarding, and grazing with livestock.

Coppicing, a technique used for thousands of years to produce useful wood products, has resulted in the interesting growth forms of the trees. Many native trees will regrow with multiple stems after being cut down, producing these distinctive, dense thickets in the photo above. Spring also brings a splash of chartreuse green to the picture, with fresh foliage on both hazel thickets and the ground layer.

Coppicing is often used in modern times as a tool for maintaining the biodiversity of woodlands. It can add variety to the structure of a woodland, and allows light to reach the woodland floor.

Vange Well #5

View of the sky from Well #5

Up in the hills of Langdon Hill Country Park in Essex, tucked away in the woodlands, lies a ruin. A relic, a building which housed Well Number 5 of the Vange Water Company. The metalwork of the domed roof creates an interesting frame for the sky, and for the encroaching woodland which is reclaiming the site.

Read more about the building and "Farmer Cash's Famous Medicinal Vange Water" at the Basildon History website.

Fallen Limb

Taken in Epping Forest, "Fallen Limb" shows a veteran Oak pollard with a large fallen bough. The forest is starting to show autumnal colours here, with hornbeam showing yellow tones in the background of this picture.

Pollarding is a traditional woodland management technique which involves cutting back the tree to head height, to stimulate growth and produce useful lengths of wood. This often results in unusual shapes as the tree grows, particularly if the cutting regime isn't continued. Eventually, an unmanaged pollard can become unable to support the weight of its limbs, dropping branches or even being split in twain.

Read more about Epping Forest and Pollarding on the City of London website.

Working Woodland Day event

FREE event on Saturday 17th August 2013, 10.00am - 3.00pm

Kiln Road, North Weald, Epping, Essex CM16 6AD

Heenan Photography will be attending the Working Woodland Day event on 17th August, at GreenAcres Woodland Burials Park in Epping Forest. This will be a chance to see some of the photographic prints up close, have an informal chat about Heenan Photography, or get hold of some artwork of your very own. There will also be an exclusive chance to buy some of the brand new Heenan Photography designed T-shirts, before they appear on the website for sale! These feature a selection of 25 images of Epping Forest on a black cotton t-shirt, selling at £12 each. These have been specially designed for the event, but will become more generally available afterwards. More options and designs will also be available soon.

The Working Woodland Day offers a whole day's entertainment. There will be a range of other exhibits, stalls and activities for all the family, with everything from Archery, and Birds of Prey, through to Children's Yoga, Den Building activity, and a Hedgelaying demonstration. Groups such as RSPB, Essex Amphibian & Reptile Group, Epping Forest Conservation Volunteers and more will be there with Heenan Photography, making sure the day is an exciting and interesting experience!


Come and enjoy a day out in in the countryside with woodland photography, wildlife, crafts and activities. Hot food and drinks are available all day.
 
For more details on the event itself:
www.eppingwoodlandburials.co.uk
info@eppingwoodlandburials.co.uk

Woodland Miscellany

 

Just some assorted woodland pictures from the far corners of my hard drive, while I plan the updates to the Gallery section of the website. The woods are all bursting into life at the moment, with Bluebells springing up beneath the trees, and lush herbage such as Garlic Mustard and Cow Parsley crowding the edges and roadsides. Ah, woodlands are fantastic! The following photos are a bit of a mixture, but are all from the woodlands - certainly one of my favourite places to be on a sunny day like today.

 

These two images above were both taken near Zell am See in Austria, on a misty morning climbing the mountain Schmittenhöhe. If a ten-hour hike to the top of the local mountain and back doesn't sound like fun, then perhaps it's best to avoid holidaying with an ardent walker and photographer like myself! The morning started off with a thick mist floating through the evergreens, creating an ethereal atmosphere and interesting lighting for these two photos when the sun blazed through. The mist thinned and finally burnt off around noon, leaving some stunning views over Zell am See and the adjacent lake, and surround countryside too. Myself and Natasha attained the lofty heights of Schmittenhöhe at 1,965m above sea level - around 1,200m above the town where we began, with temperatures reaching 23 degrees Celsius. Strange to think that the mountaintop was covered with a heavy snowfall just two days later.

 

This image was taken on the shores of Loch Lomond in Scotland, while walking the 96-mile long distance footpath "The West Highland Way" from Glasgow to Fort William. The lacustrine woodland petered out here, with one lone outlier tree standing in the very waters of the lake and taking pride of place in this shot. The lighting was very soft for the time of day (midday) giving this picture a very calm aspect. Wood and Water here both contribute to my favourite image from this eight-day hike.