What a treat awaited us as we 22 Tuesday walkers assembled at the car park of Woodchester Park. A deep, densely-wooded valley with sides so steep that the trees providing us with a gorgeously dappled-shaded canopy – seemed amazingly tall. Ponds, one meandering so gracefully into the distance the eye was immediately drawn to far shore. A low mellow-stoned building where we lunched whilst thinking about its construction and previous use and a magnificent many-chimnied mansion. The National Trust leaflet describes Woodchester as “beautiful, peaceful, lovely and elegant”. Matt, an NT ranger who came to talk to us about the work being done here, said it was ‘romantic and tranquil’. We learnt how they are nurturing, amongst other things, the bat population – Greater and Lesser Horseshoe bats who have a summer roost and nursery in the mansion – and that the building we were in was the kennels. And the birds? Woodpigeon, Chaffinch, Wren, Blackbird, in the valley, with Song Thrush heard. Our first sighting of a Buzzard at the top, Blue and Great Tits at our coffee stop, Coots with young, Mallard and Treecreeper at the Old Pond, Tufted Duck, Grey Wagtails (described as ‘dancing on their tails’ by one of our party) and a Hobby at Middle Pond. Swallows at the kennels and House Martins and Rook at the Mansion, plus a handsome Mistle Thrush resting on the railings allowing us time to admire him. We also met three Exeter University PhD students looking for 15 badgers who had tracking collars; they located eight of them. Thank you Nancy for leading this lovely walk, providing us with a comfortable, pretty glade for elevenses and arranging for Matt to come and share his knowledge with us. It was a beautiful and interesting day with 31 species in all. Annie Hawkridge
- Boc Tue 10 June 2014 Woodchester Glen Ruth Stanton Belted Galoway cattle