Holly bonfire burning hot and fast. Herbie was interested but cautious.
When we started clearing the dense holly growing along the length of the ride, and by the pond , we estimated that the work would take about 6 months. ( that was always optimistic.) Almost two years later we are still at it, but at long last we seem to have broken the back of this not very enjoyable job. The most recent clearance was at the north end of the wood, next to Frenchbridge Ghyll, the stream that flows down through St.Leonard's Forest to the North West of Old Copse, and feeds into the pond. It is lined along its length with a narrow band of shady woodland. Springs emerge from the steep banks and empty into the Ghyll, helping to keep the area wet throughout the year. The holly was particularly dense on the banks of the stream, but now it has been well thinned out, to encourage the oaks, alder, and other broadleaves, allowing us to see and enjoy this particularly lovely part of the wood .
Old Copse is in an AONB (Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty) and part of it, particularly the area bordering the Pond, is an SSSI, that is, a Site of Special Scientific Interest. Old Copse is at the Western edge of the Sussex Weald . Both the High and Low Weald have numerous Ghylls, steep sided woodland streams that have their own specific characteristics. Frenchbridge Gyll that runs through Old Copse and into Hawkins Pond is typical of Wealden Ghylls, though perhaps not quite so steep sided as some.
Ghyll woods constitute an important core area of 'primary woodland' , that is to say, wooded sites which have never been cleared within the larger semi-natural woodland of South East England. A Ghyll woodland has a humid and relatively stable micro-climate resulting from long continuity of shade and moisture. Such woods support ancient semi-natural woodland vegetation often with high bio-diversity value . Wealden Ghylls mark some of the oldest, least disturbed woodland in the South-East.
Now the Scots Pine has been thinned, the young beech trees can be seen in their Autumn colours.
The woods have been echoing with the sounds of barking deer, all competing with each other in trying to attract mates.
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