Witton Gilbert Dene is a hidden pocket of tranquillity just off the main Durham to Lanchester Road. A handy map and description of the wildlife is available as a
download (pdf) from
Durham County Council Countryside Service.
Fran Mudd from the
Wild Woods Project invited me to run a winter
tree identification session for The Friends of Witton Dene. For a couple of hours we adorned the inside of the
beautiful 12th century St Michael's & All Angels church with a selection of twigs and photos before a walk through the woods to tackle the quiz.
If you're looking for some tips on identifying trees in winter then have a look at Phil Gates blog, A
Cabinet of Curiosities. It contains some great botanical identification tips, mostly around real places and images in County Durham, as well as the following blog entries on winter trees:
buds1 -
buds2 -
buds3 -
buds4, and
bark1 -
bark2 -
bark3 -
bark4
