Stonehills Plantation (November 2021)

Whilst driving on Derby Road near to Kirby in Ashfield, I spotted some autumn colours in a beech wood which I know now to be Stonehills Plantation. 

The plantation can be accessed from Cauldwell Road next to the Cauldwell Dam fishing pond where I captured this brief bit of sunlight catching the bright yellow leaves of a young field maple tree:

I did eventually find the beech trees I had seen from the road. What I had noticed in particular was tall trees with low spreading branches, a combination that photographs well, especially with autumn colours. Unfortunately though, by the time I had walked up through the wood, the sunlight had largely disappeared with only brief burst in between passing clouds. This did impact on some of final images...I much prefer bright conditions for autumn photography.

I had intended to return to the Stonehills Plantation on a better weather day but didn’t manage to fit it in with the other more established locations that I had on my list, but it is noted for next year. 

These were some of this year’s results:

Hanger Hill Wood (November 2021)

When visiting Sherwood Forest, particularly in Autumn, I head for Hanger Hill Wood. It is an area in the forest that I found marked on a map but I am never totally clear that whether my route exactly coincides with the wood. It is, however, a useful reference point that allows me to orientate myself around the forest and to built familiarity with different locations for the photography - plus there are only so many ways of saying that I am in Sherwood Forest yet again!

On this occasion, I found the group of beech trees that tend to colour early in full seasonal flow. Further along it is was bit different, the beech trees were still mainly green with the red oaks on the opposite side path providing some fine red and orange tones. This combination worked really well for a series that will probably define autumn 2021 for me…

Sweet Chestnuts and Red Oaks (November 2021)

I think blue skies and sunlight are the best conditions for autumn photography. The brightness really brings out the colours. Unfortunately though, sunny days can be few and far between at this time of year so I have a couple of venues close to home if I see a break in the weather. 

One of these is Foxcovert Nature Reserve which has an abundance of sweet-chestnut trees and another is the area around Strawberry Hill Heath where I can find red oaks. Both provide great colour if caught at the right time. 

The photographic method in Foxcovert is to look upwards to the colours as the wood is in a hollow and it tends to be quite dark at ground or eye level. The low sun only seems to skim the top of the trees at this time of year. These were some of the results from an early November afternoon:

Most years I try to capture the red oaks near to Strawberry Hill Heath. These differ from the native oaks mainly in the shape of their leaves, with the red varieties having pointed lobes rather than the round ones we normally associate with traditional oak trees. Also, the red oaks tend to colour earlier in the season and they were just starting to turn at the start of November: