Danger!

 

For sure the highest grade of danger.

Detritus deposited

 

Although returned to the confines of it's banks this morning, the hefty lump of tree deposited on the path across Ober Water between Ferny Knap and Clumber suggests that the stream had escaped its' confines significantly overnight. These quiet looking forest streams can quickly turn into torrents after a heavy rain.

Clumber

Early morning sun floods the coniferous stands of Clumber enclosure. One of the smaller of the forests' enclosures at 48 acres Clumber was enclosed in 1843. The conifers here are a later crop, the eastern end of the enclosure, for the most part, retains it's original oak planting. The coniferous stands enjoy a grandness to them, you get both the feeling of openness and that of being contained within a natural cathedral.

Oak King, Beech Queen

 

You'll see this pairing all over the forest, an Oak and Beech planted together. What the purpose if any is, or what the significance is I don't know. Though it's frequency suggests it's not accidental. Whatever it is to me they represent the pairing of the king and the queen of the forest.  

The Rookery

On old maps this corner of Cumber enclosure is marked 'The Rookery'; a name which I reckon pre-dates the present enclosed plantation of 1843, and could be associated with nearby Rhinefeild House.  Although the current Rhinefeild house (a 4* hotel) only dates from the late 19th century, the site has been lived on in one form or other since the 11th century. That's the value of old maps, they hold forgotten histories and hints to previous land use; the name 'The Rookery' is missing from contemporary OS Maps, and with it that nod to history.