Japanese Maple Tree
Flame Red On A Footpath To Woodwell

A number of footpaths lead to Woodwell, where the lush green leaves of surrounding trees now unfurled for Spring and Summer make this refreshing beauty spot an enchanting place to visit. It is only a short walk to get here from Silverdale village, and there is also a road providing vehicle access. Some of the oldest living organisms in the British Isles are found in the woods around this small open space, at the centre of which is a pond with a short stream feeding into it from the cliff, at the base of which is a spring. This was once the main water supply for old Silverdale. One footpath meanders through woods now filled with flowering wild garlic, and on my approach to this trail in October I encountered a Japanese Maple tree with its leaves ablaze with a stunning Autumnal flame red hue, standing at around twenty-feet tall on the edge of the walled path which leads to the woods. During any time of the year other than October, and you might not notice this tree any more or less than you would any other tree.





The leaves of the Japanese Maple are presently green and still unfolding, and it was around this time last year when I first began to explore this fascinating area. The density of foliage here often throws the cliff and spring, boulders and fern grass, into deep shade. Two footpaths lead off in opposite directions - one directly up the cliff - and a cliff-top path continues to wind its way around vine-covered trees. It is estimated that the small-leaved Lime trees in nearby woods were growing here when Stonehenge was built, undergoing a process known as layering. The many small white petals of the flowering wild garlic continue to fill the woodlands throughout May.


Nearby places include the Wolfhouse Gallery & Cafe, Lindeth Tower & Gibraltar Farm where you can purchase raw milk or an ice cream in Summer
Japanese Maple Tree
- by Jordan Fadden
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- 01 May, 2019
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Flame Red On A Footpath To Woodwell











