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| Entrance to the woodland that makes up the majority of the Dorset Wildlife Trust’s Kilwood Nature Reserve at East Creech.
Dominated by formerly coppiced Hazel and Oak its one of those areas that never disappoints. After walking along the sun-baked ridge of the Purbeck Hills the cool, damp woodland has an almost other worldly feel to it. Reputed to be a stronghold for the Hazel Dormouse the strange noises associated with unseen animals moving through the shadows helps to sharpen the senses. |
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| A superb display of English Bluebells. No sign of the Spanish imposter or dubious hybrids. |
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| A Roebuck photographed from a little further along the Purbeck ridge at Bucknowle. Unfortunately the Doe seen drinking from the pool at Kilwood vanished into the dense undergrowth before I could reach for the camera ! |
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| Bird’s Nest fern – one of many. Appears to have a preference for the more heavily shaded and slightly drier areas of the woodland. |
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| A Small White Butterfly enjoying the nectar from English Bluebells in a neighbouring field. |
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| Male ferns growing in one of the many gully’s left behind by clay extraction. Probably the most plentiful of the ferns to be found at Kilwood. |
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| The distinctive Hard fern – one of the easier of our native ferns to identify. |
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| Broad buckler-fern |
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| A particularly impressive Male fern |