The frost has bitten and winter finally arrived. In Banhaw Wood, after a particularly colourful autumn, the trees have mostly shed their leaves. On the aspen a few hang on, stiff yellow flags rattling delicately in the breeze. The more sheltered hazels are still in leaf, but they are flaccid and defeated. Many oaks are bare, but some still hold rusty brown leaves, and one moderately sized oak is notably verdant, as if in defiance of the near onset of December.
The ash trees dropped their leaves a while ago; they stand in naked greyness, adorned with many hanging bunches of dark keys. In one ash, two pairs of bullfinches flit between bunches of seeds. Each grips a twig and leans upside down to pluck a seed, then rights itself and dexterously unsheathes the kernel with its thick bill. This behaviour makes them look more parrots than finches, particularly the males with their gaudy orange-pink fronts and neat black caps.
Beyond the wood, just over the crest of the hill, are some significant medieval earthworks. The largest is a 25m square mound surrounded by a deep moat. Upper Lyveden moated site is thought to date from around 1300, and floor tiles from the 1400s have been found.
The valley floor further on is littered with long abandoned villages and the fields surrounding the site are scattered with limestone bricks. There is evidence of thriving potteries and kilns, and the area is the source of Lyveden Stanion Ware. However, by the mid-1500s, whatever building once stood here had disappeared and now the mound is encapsulated by young trees.
Nearby are two substantial fishponds, bunded to maintain water in this elevated position. They would once have supplied large carp to supplement the farmed produce. One remains as a significant pond, but is now surrounded by shooting butts, with the margins richly layered with grain. This, to my eye, spoils the appearance of the historic feature, but perhaps, if they still serve a purpose in supplying some meat for the tables of the local farmers, we shouldn’t judge too harshly.
