Wednesday 10 November 2021

The Valley In The Forest

The tiny village of Santon Downham hides away in the midst of lowland England's largest commercial forest, Thetford Forest, and through some quirk of micro-climate, often records the lowest overnight temperatures in the region. Surely there must be some autumn colour here.



Although almost all of the forest consists of drab conifers, there's a strip through the centre, roughly following the River Little Ouse, where the natural tree-scape is maintained.

 

At the moment it's the beeches that are showing the best colour, though they are always indecisive trees with brown, gold and green leaves frequently sitting next to each other on the same twig. Meanwhile the birches are now almost bare and some oaks are still stubbornly green.



We made our way eastwards, observing the trees as we went.



We saw a few trees like the one above, growing up through a dense thicket of suckers (saplings growing up from its own roots). While some trees, including birch and beech, often spread by sending up clones from their root system, I think I've read that when they grow up from the base in this way it's a reaction to stress - perhaps it's been browsed by deer or else it's undergone periods of drought, which could happen in an area of such sandy soils. I'd love to know.



We soon reached a point where we crossed the river on a rather rickety footbridge and then returned along the south side of the valley.

 

Occasionally a deciduous tree tries its luck growing amongst the conifer plantations. 



In many places the Forestry Commission tolerate or even encourage the native trees to grow around the edges of their plantations and beside the public paths. For although the forest was planted after the First World War so that the country might be self-sufficient in timber, it's now also managed for recreation and conservation.



The forest is well-known to bird-watchers as it contains a number of species not seen elsewhere in East Anglia. Goshawks, Woodlarks, Crossbills, Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers and Siskins can all be found (though I've only ever seen one Goshawk in all the times I've been there - and I count myself lucky to have seen one!) and the rare Stone Curlew nests in the open spaces around the edge of the forest.



Some of the paths are so sandy that it's like walking on a beach; the land was used for forestry as it was of little agricultural value.



I'd better show you this Little Ouse that I keep talking about. Here it is approaching Santon Downham. The river forms the official boundary between the counties of Norfolk and Suffolk, though things are rather confused around here - Santon Downham and its church lie in Suffolk, but the village has a second church, now redundant, which stands over the river in Norfolk.



And above you see the road bridge which Santon Downham folks have to cross to get into Norfolk, and visitors also have to cross it to get to the car park, as that's in Norfolk too.



I'll finish off with a couple of pictures of Santon Downham itself. I'm always meaning to take some photos but there always seem to be parked cars or vans in the way. Today there were inconvenient dark shadows but I took a couple of shots anyway.






Take care.


27 comments:

  1. Hi John - fascinating history of the area and valley of beauty certainly describes the walks, while our history always bemuses us - so many fascinating links back over time. One day - yes please take us around the village a bit more ... enjoy these warm (down here!) autumnal days. Cheers Hilary

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  2. Such a lovely walk in nature!Very beautiful pictures.Must had been a lovely walk!

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  3. It is interesting that you mention the stress caused by deer browsing the lower level of the forest. Here it is a real problem and the browse line is apparent everywhere that deer are found. Their natural predators have been eliminated, people are daffy about deer, and their numbers are exploding beyond reason, or the ability to sustain themselves. Deer in people's backyards is not an uncommon sight and vehicle/deer collisions are increasing everywhere. I wonder whether it is like that in England. We certainly know how to screw up the balance of nature!

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    1. They certainly cause some damage, but I suspect we have a smaller deer population, and smaller deer, than you have. One nature reserve fenced off some small areas and the difference in vegetation soon became apparent.

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  4. Such a beautiful walk you had there. It's lovely to see some of the leaves changing color for fall. I love the photo of the dark tree in the center. It looks like it's posing in a ballet move.

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  5. It is nice to hike in the Fall and see so many colors! I enjoy your hikes and your explanations too!

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  6. That must be a beautiful forest to walk around, around here there are a few woods but little else. Very nice church at the end

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  7. Beautiful photos all. The seventh is my favourite. What a quaint little village.

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  8. Lots of colours and beauty to enjoy on your walk. Very nice, John and thanks for taking us along.

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  9. You seem to be surrounded by so much beauty! Lovely fall shots!

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  10. Gorgeous walk, I love exploring via your photos. Your trees look much the same as here. It's not really been cold enough to make them turn a vibrant colour, I think.

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  11. Lovely walk again. There is a Thetford in Vermont and Dan is a member of the choral group that bears that name but rehearses in Norwich.

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  12. You take us on some interesting walks and your photos are wonderful:)

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  13. What a wonderful walk...and I like the shadows in the last two shots. Makes me feel more like I am there.

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  14. Looked a beautiful day for a walk. Lovely range of colours in the forest.

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  15. The second photo seems to be glowing with inner light. We are just beginning to see a bit of color today. We get so little we exclaim over each tree that complies!

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  16. Another lovely walk can't wait untill the next one.

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  17. Thanks for sharing your most recent walk in the forest!

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  18. Another wonderful walk. Thank you.

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  19. Beautiful. I'm always amazed at the different shapes of so many of the trees. Enjoy your day, hugs, Edna B.

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  20. That's really pretty. I would say overall gorgeous fall colors!

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  21. The muted fall colors were beautiful, John. Many people fail to see the beauty in the brown and gold foliage, but to me these colors are even better than the vibrant reds and yellows.

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  22. I felt calm, surrounded by the quietly glinting colors. Nicely photographed. I could almost smell the fresh autumnal smells of the woodlands.

    Yoko

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  23. Beautiful and peaceful. Lovely walk!

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