Short Wood and Southwick Wood

Very late with this one! I mentioned in my 30 Days Wild post that for the final weekend of June I decided to go to somewhere I hadn’t been before. So on that weekend I headed off to a Wildlife Trusts nature reserve near Oundle that comprises two woodlands called Short Wood and Southwick Wood, with a meadow and a road between them.

The webpage for this reserve mentions that it can be wet and muddy and we’d had quite a bit of rain in the days leading up to my visit, but I’ve never let a bit of mud stop me before! It definitely was wet and muddy, but undeterred I managed to make my way around most of Short Wood and the majority of the water in Southwick Wood was just inside the entrance, beyond that it wasn’t actually all that bad.

So to kick off the day I walked through the meadow to Short Wood, the smaller of the two woods. I almost managed to make it all the way round the paths, but did have to turn back and go a different way at one point. Despite the water and mud, there was still plenty to see!

Wading through mud is surprisingly tiring so I went back to the car at lunchtime for a bit of a rest, before heading of into Southwick Wood for the afternoon. This is one of the places that’s mentioned as a site for spotting Black Hairstreak butterflies, but despite having a good look round for them I couldn’t see any. There were plenty of other things to see though, and the sun even came out! To end the day I went for another wander round the meadow in the afternoon sun before heading back to the car.

Despite the water and mud it was a great day out, somewhere I’ll definitely return to one day. Albeit when it’s likely to be a bit drier!

2 Comments Add yours

  1. Louise says:

    A lovely collection of photos! I loved exploring Southwick Wood when I was there but not so much Short Wood – the smaller wood was eerily silent, hardly any crickets singing and I didn’t see a single bird there whereas Southwick had been full of bird calls and crickets!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Yes, Short Wood was definitely quieter, just a few butterflies in patches where sunlight was breaking through the trees. Maybe it’s because it doesn’t have glades like Southwick does?

      Like

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