As you cross the field look back to the Red Osier Dogwood in the hedgerow. This has distinctive red twigs that stand out all through the winter. The Common Dogwood at the top of the path by the entrance to the wood is less showy with purple twigs and black berries. Both have white flowers in early summer
In Broad Walk, English Oaks dominate with their deeply grooved bark and twisted branches. The most dramatic sign of spring in this northern part of the wood are the Wood Anemones which form a striking white carpet, soon to be replaced by a blue one as the Bluebells come into flower.
In Beech Grove you will pass beneath two massive evergreen Yews which have wide spreading branches that droop to the ground forming a tent. At the time of the Domesday Book a line of Yews was planted to mark the boundary between Addington and Croydon and these are almost certainly descendants. Look out too for Sweet Chestnut the spiky nut cases of which can seen on the ground throughout the winter. This has grey bark with a deep, latticed pattern that often appears to have been twisted round.