wytham woods

By Alice | Published: January 26, 2010

scarytree
This wood is owned by Oxford University and is a Site of Special Scientific Interest because:

This site consists of a complex of ancient woodland, wood pasture, common land and old limestone grassland on a variety of soils. The site has a well documented history dating back to at least 1544 when it formed part of the lands of Abingdon Abbey. The ancient woodland copses are undoubtedly of greater age and were probably present in Saxon times. The site has an exceptionally rich flora and fauna. Over 500 species of vascular plants have been recorded. Many aspects of the bird, mammal and invertebrate fauna have been studied by Oxford University and have provided Wytham Woodwith a volume of data probably unparalleled in this country.

- Natural England citation

However as well as all of this I think the woods in winter can be a bit spooky. The silence apart from crows cawing and flapping, jagged branches… *shiver!*

lookingupattrees

unusualtree

truck

sawmill

treesawmill
The sawmill.

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One Comment

  1. Audrey Mango
    Posted January 30, 2010 at 4:59 am | Permalink

    I love the crooked branches in the sky in the second one – it’s like stained glass. I’ve always loved that but it’s so hard to capture on film. It looks beautiful if spooky!
    (I came here via Cloudscome’s page – glad to find your blog!)