G7. Continue along West Gorse until you reach Linden Glade.
The Council carried out much work in this area in the winter of 2016/7. This has allowed in a lot more light and wild flowers have proliferated.
The name Linden Glade comes from the 6 Lime (or Linden) trees that form an arc around the rock pile. These have heart-shaped leaves, flaky bark and slender twigs with reddish buds in the winter. The old pond here disappeared when vandalism and cost caused the water to be turned off. In 2016 FSW restored the pond by digging out the silt and reproofing the surface. We hope that it will be a source of water for wildlife and a feature of interest for many years to come. Unfortunately it seems to have a leak but we are looking at ways of curing this. Behind the Limes are two very tall Larch trees. You may be lucky enough to spot or hear a Tawny Owl, as there is a roost a little further into the wood behind the glade.
In Linden Glade is a large Holly that is especially resplendent with berries in winter. Holly is dioecious which means that there are separate male and female plants with only the females producing berries. Beside it are two evergreen Corsican Pines which drop cones in the Autumn although these are buried amongst the Brambles and may be hard to find.
Turn left past the Memorial to Col. H.S. Wood and continue along West Gorse to the T junction. Turn right along Farleigh Border.
About half way along this path you will see a deep crater to your right. There are several of these throughout the wood, believed to be the result of WWII bombs which were jettisoned over the wood. Look for berries on the large Holly tree in Farleigh Border - is this a male or female tree? Holly has a superstitious past. It was bad luck to cut down and was also thought to ward off evil spirits. The FSW have cut back some of the Holly in this area which had become over dominant and invasive.