Click on the image above to view Best Of East Blean gallery View as a Slideshow Kent Wildlife Trust

One of my favourite woods to visit is East Blean Wood. I discovered this place a few years ago now and I have regularly walked there throughout the year ever since. It’s a large area of approximately 122 hectares (300 acres) of semi-ancient managed woodland, looked after by the Kent Wildlife Trust.

The very first time I walked in these woods was in the springtime of 2005 and the sight that greeted me was an area of Wood Anemones that I just couldn’t believe. I stood in the middle of them and all around as far as I could see was a sea of white which really does have to be seen to be believed. I was hooked for sure and just had to keep going back to see what else I would find and I have never been disappointed. Parts of the woodland have a wonderful variety of springtime flowers and over time I have discovered the best places to find them.

There are large areas of Sweet Chestnut which are regularly coppiced. The open areas created by the coppicing quickly colonise with Common Cow Wheat (Melampyrum), a food plant of the beautiful but rare Heath Fritillary butterfly (Melitaea cinxia). In mid- to late-June these recently coppiced areas of the woods become alive with the sight of these lovely butterflies, so visits at this time of year are always a pleasure. Other butterflies you may be lucky to see are White Admirals (Limenitis camilla) and Purple Hairstreaks  (Neozephyrus quercus) along with the more common ones.

Ever since that first visit I have visited regularly and discovered that there is something of interest at any time of year. In the autumn the woodland floor becomes colourful once more, this time with a huge variety of fungi. There is something too about wrapping up warm on a sunny winter’s day and seeing the leafless trees, their bare branches shining in the sun.

As you can imagine, since first visiting in 2005 I now have a vast selection of pictures of this woodland in every season. Each visit brings something new to see though, and I will never tire of visiting and taking even more pictures.