Spring

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This season sees the wood ‘spring’ to life (sorry)! Hob Hey’s wildflowers are its crowning glory. First to emerge are the carpets of yellow lesser celandine. These give the ground a lemony glow from early March. Also yellow, but less spectacular is the opposite-leaved golden saxifrage which flowers at the same time.

White dominates the woodland in early April with wood sorrel and wood anemone flowers carpeting the floor. In contrast, delicate little dog violets appear in pockets here and there; beautiful to spot.

The most spectacular displays belong to wild garlic and bluebells in early May. These two flowers cover large areas of Hob Hey contrasting white and blue, with the garlic filling the area with its pungent smell. The UK holds 50% of the world’s bluebell woods and Hob Hey is a great place to see them.

There are plenty of other flowers to see in the wood. Have a look at the website’s blog page for what can be seen and when.

Of course, the trees bloom at this time, too. The wood contains many species of trees; all will be getting green with leaf at this time. Watch out for the spectacular blossom of the crab apple tree. There’s a huge one on the path from the main bridge to the north bridge; unmissable when in bloom.

The other visible activity in the wood belongs to the birds. The breeding season gets into full swing and all the resident birds will be nesting. Look for holes in trees made by woodpeckers and used by nuthatches. In late Spring, you can watch the adults feeding the chicks. Other birds are more secretive although hearing the cries of the breeding buzzards and jackdaws is often possible. Sparrowhawks also breed in the wood and can provide excellent views as they hunt and return to feed the chicks. 

Spring is possibly the best time to visit the wood, there’s simply so much to see.