Spring Wood, an area of ancient forest on the edge of Ipswich is a great place for BLUEBELLS. A place where for millennia drifts of the flower have carpeted the woodland floor every Spring. This is one of nature's spectacle that marks out on the natural calendar as it peaks for only a short time. Being close to Ipswich there are records of the wood going back hundreds of years, and it is probably older than that. As its name suggests springs well out from the wood creating little streams in the forest. There aren't any old trees, but lots of hazel coppice which allows enough light through for BLUEBELLS to grow.
It is a beautiful area to visit, except it isn't peaceful - the A14 runs right next to the wood. The wood is part of one large area of excellent habitats which provides a green cushion for the southern area of town against the A14.
A couple of years ago the area was in the news, as they wanted to build a housing development on an area called Kiln Meadows. This is an area of rough grassland which abuts on to Spring Wood, it protects the wood from nearby housing development, allowing it to preserve some wildness.
If the development had got the go-ahead then not only would Kiln Meadows be destroyed but Spring Wood would have withered and died, sandwiched between a housing development and the A14. A wood that had stood for millennia would be destroyed for a little bit of money.
The noise of cars destroyed any bird song, but there was a singing WHITETHROAT in Kiln Meadow.
The wood is well managed, by charity conservation charities, like Greenways a group I worked with several years ago when I was out of work. This has kept the area so good, and the BLUEBELLS are a testament to this. Its often easy to think that a lot of our wilder areas just are, but they are often heavily managed for wildlife, but in such a way that is so unobtrusive to visitors.
BLUEBELL drifts occur no where else in the world, they grow here in such profusion because of the Atlantic climate.
Coppicing is the woodland management system that allows the BLUEBELLS to grow. It is the process of cutting hazel trees down a to stump. The tree doesn't die but shoots of new growth occur next year. The new shoots are more spindly and so let in more light. This results in more light coming through the woodland canopy allowing woodland plants to grow without cutting down the trees.
WILD GARLIC grows in the wet areas by the streams, rub their leaves together and you get the smell of garlic.
Apart from the BLUEBELLS, there were WILD GARLIC, YELLOW ARCHANGEL (like a stinging nettle with yellow flowers), STICHWORT and COWSLIP.
The coppice stools were guarded by sticks to stop deers from eating the new shoots.
COWSLIPS were growing sporadically on Kiln Meadows.
After an hour photographing I left the woods and had to re-enter the concrete human world. It is amazing that places like this still exist especially so close to urban areas like Ipswich, and they've thrived. Maybe this is how human civilisation can be judged, how we look after our natural landscape, as well as all the other stuff which we have created.
Anyway this wildlife spectacle is only at its best for another week or so, so hurry up and visit your nearest wood, its worth it.
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