Southwell Minster (September 2024)

 A few things I spotted on a short visit to the Southwell Minster and gardens… 

September on the Southwell Trail - Part 3 (2020)

The final post from September photography on the Southwell Trail is a close up ‘details’ post. These are aspects of the trail that I spot whilst out walking; often taken casually but when combined, say something about the month or season in which they were taken. 

Norway Maple

If I am right with my leaf shapes these are Norway Maple leaves which gradually turned from bottle green to a deep red by the end of September:

 

Birch Leaves

The birch leaves tend to colour in clusters in early autumn but sometimes there is just the odd yellow leaf:

Hawthorns

Hawthorns display a nice array of autumn colours in addition to the seasonal haws:

                                                  

Rosebay Willow Herb

The pink flowers of the rosebay willow herb are replaced by distinctive cotton-like seeds in late summer and early autumn. An individual plant can produce thousands of these seeds which then disperse in the wind:

Horse Chestnut

I believe these are textures of an old horse chestnut tree - judging mainly by the trees that are closest to this one:

Fruit

Various fruit along the trail during September including blackberries, apples and pine cones;

Clover

Finally, a simple white clover flower. Very common, of course, but wonderful when viewed up close:

Ploughman's Wood (February 2019)

This was my first visit to Ploughman's Wood near to Woodborough, Nottinghamshire. A fellow photographer had mentioned it a few times so I decided to take a look.

According to Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust, Ploughman's Wood was once part of a larger woodland that dates from the 13th century and describes it as "one of the country's few remaining ancient woodlands". Today it is mostly an oak woodland and the wildlife trust lists ash, sessile oak, sycamore, wild cherry, sweet chestnut, and hornbeam as some of the tree species in the wood. It also states that the best time to visit is when the bluebell and wood anemones carpet the ground - something to note for a few month's time.

The conditions on the day for photography were not particularly good although there was a brief appearance of the sun late in the afternoon. This provided the best photograph of the visit and this is the view across farmland towards Woodborough Park:

The sun remained on the path for the return journey to the car:

The shots in Ploughman's Wood were restricted to tree branch patterns against the grey sky and a few texture shots of bark. Now I have my bearings for this venue I hope to return in the spring for the bluebells.