Fungi time in Cranham Woods, Gloucestershire

Both Woodpeckers and I felt a sense of relief today.  For her half term has just begun which means a week for herself and her personal projects.  For me the public presentation of the Neighbourhood Plan has completed and now with the focus on finalising the content of the Plan I will have more time for other things.

The weather was fine today and so we decided to go looking for some autumn colours in the landscape, and Helena suggested combining it with a pub lunch.  We thought of Cranham Woods and the nearby 'Royal William' pub where we had a good lunch last autumn with Kate, Helena's sister, and two of her kids.

A somewhat late departure meant that the sun became shrouded by low clouds.  Cranham Woods are ancient and have probably been managed for their timber since Roman times.  There is still a small sawmill on the edge of the woods and I think that the predominant beech trees would have been the most important crop.

We strolled through the woods where there were few paths of any size. Small overgrown quarries showed that the underlying limestone must also have been an important product both for building and the production of lime in kilns using charcoal from the woods.

It was quite cold under the high canopy and as we both kept stopping to take pictures it got to us.  Helena spotted these fungi and I couldn't resist taking a picture of them as well.  I don't know anything about identifying fungi so i must bring my friend John here for a walk one day as he is a mine of information about fungi and micro-organisms in general, in fact anything to do with natural history.

In my 'Extra photos' I have added one of the first pictures I took today of a view along a beech glade, where a couple of walkers and their dogs appeared in the distance.