Martley, Worcestershire
	10:31am Tue 3 Apr 07
	APART from cherry plum, which is an introduced species, blackthorn is usually the first native species of tree or shrub to produce showy blossom in the wild (hazel flowers earlier but much less conspicuously).

	Shrawley Woods, Shrawley, near Worcester
	10:33am Mon 26 Mar 07
	Shrawley Wood is justly famous for its bluebells, but the bluebells are preceded by another spectacle which fewer people seem aware of. This is the sight of hundreds of thousands of wood anemones blooming across parts of the woodland floor during March and April.

	Chaddesley Woods, Chaddesley Corbett
	10:46am Mon 19 Mar 07
	Chaddesley Woods National Nature Reserve consists of a group of ancient woods near Chaddesley Corbett, between Kidderminster and Bromsgrove. This walk includes Chaddesley Wood itself, along with Coalpit Coppice and Waterpit Coppice.

	Clifton on Teme and Whitbourne, Worcestershire
	11:52am Mon 12 Mar 07
	There is some truly delightful countryside in the area between Clifton and Whitbourne, around Sapey Brook and its numerous tributaries, which have cut steep-sided, wooded dingles through the hilly landscape.

	Daffodils Way, Newent
	12:19pm Mon 5 Mar 07
	Wild daffodils flower from February to early April and are blooming now in the woods, meadows, hedgerows and churchyards of a small patch of north Gloucestershire and south Herefordshire.
	Reader comment (1)

	Grimley, Worcestershire
	11:12am Mon 26 Feb 07
	This is a figure-of-eight walk so you need do only one of the loops if you prefer something shorter.

	Grafton Wood, Grafton Flyford
	9:35am Mon 19 Feb 07
	Grafton Wood is jointly owned by Worcestershire Wildlife Trust and Butterfly Conservation. It is of major importance for butterflies, of which about 30 species have been recorded.

	Hay-on-Wye, Powys
	11:27am Mon 12 Feb 07
	EXPLORE Herefordshire's wild west and venture into Powys on this exhilarating walk in a magnificent mountain landscape where wild ponies roam.

	Teme valley, near Worcester
	9:53am Mon 5 Feb 07
	WITH both natural and man-made attractions, this is an easy and very pleasant walk in the Teme valley just to the west of Worcester.

	Abberley Hill, Worcestershire
	10:32am Mon 29 Jan 07
	Much of the native woodland which once covered Abberley Hill has been replaced by conifer plantations, and there are lots of sycamores on the hill too. Sycamore is native to Central Europe and is generally believed to have been introduced to Britain c1500, although a carving of a sycamore in Oxford's Christchurch Cathedral dates from 1282. Perhaps a few specimens had already been introduced, or maybe the woodcarver had travelled abroad. Many conservationists dislike sycamore because it is invasive and it supports less wildlife than natives such as oak or ash. But others admit that it is a handsome tree and does support more wildlife than alien conifers.

	Kinver, near Stourbridge
	9:57am Mon 22 Jan 07
	Though a large village, Kinver is expanding rapidly, but it still retains some interesting buildings from the days when it was a busy port on the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal.

	Herefordshire Beacon, Malvern Hills
	11:21am Mon 15 Jan 07
	Herefordshire Beacon, topped by the spectacular hill fort of British Camp, overlooks a group of Worcestershire commons often known collectively as Castlemorton Common. However, this name is more accurately applied to the north-eastern common, while the others include Berrow Downs, Hollybed Common and Coombegreen Common.
	Reader comments (4)

	Holt Heath, near Ombersley
	10:13am Mon 8 Jan 07
	HOLT is an Old English word which is usually taken to refer to woodland, but very little woodland remains at Holt Heath today.

	Ludlow, Shropshire
	9:15am Mon 18 Dec 06
	Ludlow was recently acclaimed as England's finest market town by Country Life magazine, which will come as no surprise to those who know it well.

	Fernhill Heath, near Worcester
	10:02am Sat 9 Dec 06
	THERE'S lots of interest on this walk close to the northern edge of Worcester. For instance, 18th Century Lower Smite Farm is the headquarters of Worcestershire Wildlife Trust.

	Piper's Hill and Hanbury Park, near Droitwich
	11:10am Mon 4 Dec 06
	It's obvious from the well-worn footpaths that Piper's Hill and Hanbury Park are immensely popular with walkers. Sadly, the parked cars which increasingly blight the hill also testify to that.

	If you’re lucky, you’ll spot deer on a hillside journey
	10:47am Mon 27 Nov 06
	Bredon Hill is very nearly part of the Cotswolds. It has a steep scarp slope, a gentle dip slope and it is encircled by a number of attractive villages and hamlets.

	Head to the village where the giant flattened his wife
	9:45am Mon 20 Nov 06
	According to legend, a giant who once lived in Clutter's Cave on the Malvern Hills looked down from the ridge one day to see his wife being chatted up by a stranger.

	Let your imagination take flight on a canalside trek
	11:29am Mon 13 Nov 06
	IF you have even the slightest interest in old buildings, local history or perhaps social history, then Avoncroft Museum of Buildings at Stoke Prior, near Bromsgrove, is well worth a visit.

	Explore the peaceful parts of wonderful Wyre Forest
	11:23am Mon 6 Nov 06
	Wyre Forest is increasingly popular with walkers and cyclists but most do tend to concentrate on the area around the visitor centre. This walk explores more peaceful parts of the forest around Pound Green and Hawkbatch, where you have a very good chance of encountering fallow deer. It also includes Seckley Wood, where there is an excellent viewpoint overlooking the River Severn, Upper Arley and Trimpley Reservoirs.

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