G1. Leave the car park at the far end and walk along Vale Border keeping the hedge on your left and cross Fields 1 and 2 to reach the southern corner of the third field.

Look out for the Crab Apple tree in the hedge close to the car park. It has pretty pink and white blossom in the Spring and in Autumn the apples can be found littering the ground beneath. The dominant shrubs in this hedgerow are Blackthorn and Bullace. Both are covered with white blossom in the early spring and can be distinguished only by the thorns on the Blackthorn. However this bears black sloe berries in the Autumn while the Bullace fruit are small plums. There is a Turkey Oak also in the hedgerow of Field 1. This has leaves that are longer and more deeply cut than the English Oak and bears strange hairy buds in spring and acorns with hairy cups in autumn.

Note the Copper Beeches planted in the strip between Fields 2 & 3. Also the Horse Chestnut, Whitebeam and Lime in the corner of Field 3. 

In spring and summer all the fields are peppered with flowers and frequented by butterflies. 

A pictorial Autumn I Spy guide is available here.

>G2