Cadora Woods

Cadora woods are owned and managed by the Woodland trust. The parking area is on the road down to  Bigsweir Bridge which is over the river Wye, between Llandogo and Redbrook and it is on on the English side. It is also on the edge of the Offas Dyke path.

The woodland path has been improved recently and is a lot less muddy than it was some years ago, the management has involved digging some large drainage pits and installing large pipes under the path at intervals along the path, presumably in places where water used to lie and were previously quite muddy. However the path is still fairly undulating so it is not a pleasant saunter it is quite up and down in places. Also it is a there and back route, although as always your view coming back is different to your view going out. If you proceed some distance along the path you enter a region where forestry operations are or have recently been taking place and here the path is a bit more churned up.

The wood is mainly Oak, some of the trees are quite impressive specimens, there is some Silver Birch and a lot of Hazel. Further on there are more conifers but these are now being removed.

My most recent visit was 20th Feb 2020, and I was on the look out for some Coltsfoot….. perhaps a week or so too early but these days everything is too early. I had photographed a nice patch of them some years ago at the side of the path in a region where the path widened out and was a place where forestry vehicles to maybe turn round.  As I was progressing along the path I began to think that maybe with path improvements and the forestry activity then possibly the Coltsfoot area could have been disturbed and sure enough I was right.

There was very little in flower, just a bit too early. I did see some Bittercress, probably Hairy in flower but that seems to flower throughout the winter. I also spotted one plant of what I initially thought was  Narrow-leaved Bittercress, a much rarer plant, second thoughts it looks more like Ragwort. Also I saw one Daisy.

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There were plenty of Bluebells in leaf and some Ramsons also a few Wood Anemones and one little patch of Wood Sorrel. Along the path side where the Woodland Trust had recently improved the path and caused some disturbance there were a lot of Foxgloves which should look quite impressive later in the year.

Around the car park area there were a few more flowers, Barren Strawberry but whilst it was blooming the flowers were  fairly closed up, it being a dull cold day. There were also a few Primroses and I found one Violet. I think it was…. Dog Violet.

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