Nine of us gathered at Brockton for our first evening monthly walk of the year. After a few weeks of
consecutive warm sunny days, the temperatures had dropped dramatically, and we were all back to
wearing our coats and woolly hats. The group headed off north from Brockton along the lane
towards the Beechfield Dingle, where we saw a red kite soaring over the fields. Spring is one of the
best times of year to go for a walk in Beechfield Dingle, with the fresh leaves bursting from the trees
and wildflowers covering the woodland floor, it’s a spectacular local woodland. We started with a
little diversion up the public footpath before entering the woodland, to see a handful of Early Purple
Orchids on the bank which were just starting to flower. As we walked back to the start of the Dingle,
we were sheltered from the wind, and we enjoyed a wonder through carpets of wild garlic,
bluebells, and wood anemone. We spotted a few botanical gems including a patch of alternate-
leaved-golden -saxifrage, toothwort and Moschatel. We walked out of the woodland and looped
back to the car park via the road with some great views of Stiperstones and Bromlow Callow on the
way past. Those with binoculars could see the early growth of Herb Paris from the roadside. This
woodland is the only place in the Rea Valley where you can see this wonderful ancient woodland
indicator plant species.
As we returned to the car park, we saw a swallow fly past. It must have been wondering what had
happened to the weather after all the recent sunshine.
What a lovely way to spend a spring evening!
Toothwort