A companion to White Wood in spring, this photo was taken just a few metres, and six months, from the other one. The bright russet of the bracken caught my eye, as did the repeated wavering patterns of the trunks. I didn't appreciate, until I saw the image full-sized, that there was a narrow window to the opposite side if the Dart valley almost in the centre of the frame.
Dartmoor is commonly thought of as a bleak and treeless waste, but is home to a number of ancient oak woodlands. In these sheltered woods, mossy boulders and lichen-festooned branches combine to lend a primæval atmosphere, almost unchanged since lowland England was almost entirely forested. The oakwoods are special places at any time of year, but especially in Spring when the young ochre foliage is just budding, and sunlight can shine on the floor.
One of the tricks to photographing woods is to find a viewpoint that imposes some sense of order on the fractal, chaotic nature of trees. Here, I have focused on a single specimen whose fanned branches lead the eye about the frame.
Holyford Wood is a local nature reserve, near Seaton. In early summer, it has acres and acres of massed foxgloves (Digitalis purpurea) - a quite remarkable sight. I took many close-up and general shots - but this one best sums up, for me, the amazing pinkness of the experience!
At the end of my visit early one morning, my mind's eye was full of magenta daydreams that were difficult to shake off. I felt rather like the dormouse in A A Milne's poem, The Dormouse and the Doctor:
"The Dormouse lay happy, his eyes were so tight
He could see no chrysanthemums, yellow or white.
And all that he felt at the back of his head
Were delphiniums (blue) and geraniums (red)."
In my corner of East Devon, there is a tradition of planting single or double rows of beech trees alongside some country lanes. Bindon, a couple of miles west of Uplyme, has a fine row which can be seen from the distance. I've photographed them several times, and this is my favourite image. It was taken late one summer evening, when the sunset brought a warm glow and long shadows to the stubble.
