DISCOVERY TRAIL - MAIN TRAIL         

IMPORTANT-READ THIS BEFORE YOU START!

• Follow the white Woodland Trail markers

• Keep your feet on the path: don't trample plants

• Don't pick plants or toadstools.  If you pick up anything, put it back.

Use your brain

Use your ears

Use your eyes

Use your hands

Use your nose

 Use your feet

A Find a large tree.  Can you get your arms around it?  Is it the fattest one here?  How many years has it taken the tree to grow this fat?                

Next stop: use your hands

A1 Find two trees nearby with different bark.  Shut your eyes and feel the two trunks.  One is a pine and one a beech - which is which?        

Next stop: a watery place

B   Find a jar in the pond , attached to a tree.  Carefully pull it out.  Are there any creatures in the water?  Look carefully - some are very small.  Gently put the jar back in the water.                                                                   

Next stop: all ready for Christmas

B1   Can you spot any very small Christmas trees, planted last winter?
Next stop: creepy crawlies

C Look around you and think where minibeasts may be living.  Can you spot any minibeasts in the air, on the ground, or on plants?                      

Next stop: tree spotting

D   Try to spot seven different kinds of tree here.  Look at the different leaf shapes in summer, and the patterns of the twigs and buds in winter.          

Next stop: a strong plant

E Find some honeysuckle growing beside the path, and gently pull or bend it to see how strong it is (but don't pull it up or break it!).  In the old days, honeysuckle was used as string.

Next stop: baby trees

F Along the edges of the track, find some tiny birch seedlings. Spot the tree that the seeds may have come from.  Can you find any birch seeds on the ground?
Next stop: mind the prickles!

G  Feel the holly leaves.  In summer some of leaves are soft.  Where on the branches are the soft leaves?                                                                         

Next stop: use your skin

H Close your eyes for a few moments.  What does the air feel like on your skin?  Warm or cool?  What makes it feel like this?                                 

Next stop: a light-grabbing tree

I Stand close to a big hemlock tree, and look upwards into its branches.  How much sky can you see?  The tree's leaves are taking almost all the sunlight, so there is little left for plants to grow on the ground.                                                       

Next stop: fruits of the forest

X Can you find any chestnuts or their prickly cases on the ground here? Put back the chestnuts when you have felt them.                                   

Next stop: spot the difference
                                                          

Y Can you tell the difference between the Scots pines and the lodgepole pines?   Clue - look at their bark.                                                           

Next stop: use your ears

ZShut your eyes and listen carefully for a few minutes.  What sounds can you hear?  How many different birdsongs?                                                     

Next stop:  home is a tree

J   Look for signs of creatures living in and around the dead oak tree.  Clue - what holes can you see?                                                                           

Next stop:  a green carpet

KSeveral different kinds of moss grow here.  Feel how soft they are - but don't pick any!

Next stop: sunbathing!

L If it's a sunny day, enjoy the warmth of the sun!  Insects, lizards and snakes also enjoy this warm sunny spot.  Can you spot any creatures?          

Next stop: heavy metal

MFeel the weight of the lump of slag attached to the post.  What metal does it contain?                                                                                

Next stop: a very big tree
                                                              

N Get close to the biggest tree in the Wood - the "Big Beech".  Find some of its seed cases, called "mast".  What creatures might eat them? 

Next stop: trees with a smell

O   To the right of the track there are two kinds of evergreen tree (Douglas fir and Western red cedar).  Gently press their leaves, and then smell them.  Do you like their smell?Next stop: use your feet

P        As you are walking along, feel the pine roots under your feet, and the soft carpet of pine needles (dead leaves from the pine trees above your head).     

Next stop:  dinner time

Q   Can you spot any pine cones or chestnuts that have been eaten by squirrels?

Next stop:  trees to timber

R The two woodpiles are sweet chestnut and birch and pine.  From where you are standing, can you see these three kinds of tree growing?           

Next stop: woolly friends

S    How many sheep are in the paddock today?

Next stop:  you are back at the barn!

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