Getting to Perry Wood was interesting! I turned out of the car park and headed back the way I’d come in. I then continued on to Tyler Hill where a little link road, ingeniously named Link Road, took me to Tyler Hill Road which took me on to Blean, where the main bulk of Blean Woods is. Getting parked up in there was clearly not going to happen, but the drive up through Denstroude was scenic. Eventually, we got to Dunkirk, where I joined what when I was a boy, was the A2, to Boughton under Blean, then under what is now the A2 to pick up the road towards Oversland and Selling. By this point, the roads were more challenging; narrow, winding and hilly, very hilly. The worst of them, though, was the state of the roads. They had a lot of subsidence. I was going slowly and watching my caravan swinging side to side in the mirrors. Finally, at a little crossroads in the middle of the woods, the left hand road takes one to a sizeable car park.
I stopped at a convenient spot, jumped out and had a gander about. Though it was busy, I found the perfect spot. I was soon backing into my new surroundings in no time. As I was tweaking the ideal position, where I was reasonably level and the solar panel was best exposed to sunlight, I heard a voice ask whether I needed assistance.
I explained what I was doing and thanked them for the offer. We soon got chatting. Andy is a lorry driver, his mrs, Lesley is as nutty as you like and Louise, her best mate, is married to a Hells Angel. We chatted for ages and had a great laugh. I was given a handful of various apples and a sprig of Holly. They enthused about the amount of different mushrooms they had found while out walking. I was particularly interested in where they’d seen Fly Agaric. Before they headed home, they had a photograph taken with me by my caravan.
That evening was beautifully quiet until some time around midnight, when I heard Rowan wailing. I went out to investigate. As I did so, the cat that was opposing Rowan was momentarily distracted. Bad mistake! Seizing the opportunity, Rowan pounced. The other cat took off.
The next morning I went for a walk. I took a bag for collecting mushrooms. Perry Woods is both ancient and beautiful. Sweet Chestnut was once coppiced here. As a result, there is an abundance of them. There are many huge Beech, one of which I was parked under, loads of Birch, particularly Silver Birch, and plenty of Elm, Aspen, Oak and Holly. On the higher ground, loads of Rowan and Scots Pine.
Beech
Scots Pine
At the top, above the escarpment, is a large pulpit.
The hill it sits on is known as The Mount. The structure has been there for around 200 years. There are commanding views across the Downs.
There is of course, great internet signal up there, too. As there is a table with seating below the Pulpit, I took the opportunity to quickly catch up with posts, etc. before heading back.
Red Maple
No mushrooms collected, though I spotted these:
Sulphur Tuft & Clustered Bonnet
Oak Milkcap & Sulphur Tuft
Honey Fungus (Armillaria sp.)