Saturday, 11 January 2014

Great Barnet's Wood

Bright sun and blue skies today, a welcome respite from the leaden grey and rain of late and providing encouragement to head out into the countryside for a more leisurely ramble, rather than a rapid dash between downpours.

Dog team ready to go!
As you travel along the B4243 Usk - Chepstow Road, you will pass Great Barnet's Wood, which provides very pleasant, easy walking (good for dear old Molly) through mainly deciduous woods with some impressive stands of beech trees. This is a good wood to see bluebells later in the year. The trail through the wood takes you past a large open field  known locally as 'target field' where the Chepstow Home Guard did their training during WW2.

Beauty in decay

Gushing streams through the wood due to the heavy rain 
Beautiful stands of  majestic beech trees


















Ordnance survey maps show Great Barnet's Wood on the site of an ancient oval, enclosed village settlement with evidence of earth banks, but I can find no written, historical facts about the settlement to go with this. However, the wood does have an 'ancient feel' to it with many old trees and moss covered stones.
Storm damage to a mighty beech



The welcome sight of blue skies

Parts of the wood were flooded which Dewi enjoyed!

Don't look at us like that  - you can't  expect us to go home without getting the car muddy!


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