Off on the oxlip trail, to Shadwell Wood, north of Saffron Walden. Totally delightful, a real working wood with pollards and coppices but still with a wistful and rather remote feel. Fencing helps keep rabbits and deer out, with the result that there's a fuller ground flora here than I can recall seeing for quite some time anywhere in East Anglia. The oxlips had largely done their thing, but early purple orchids and herb paris more than made up for that, and there were several plants of wild daphne and other treats such as sanicle and a peculiar arrowhead-leaved bindweed. Looks like a good potential site for nightingale, but the mercurial songster didn't dare brave the steely grey and cold day....
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