Echline Community Woodland Spring Visit

Just over 27 years ago I (like many others) was involved in the planting of trees to form Echline Community Woodland in South Queensferry. I am still involved with the maintenance of the woodland and I would like to share with you a little trip I made there last week (part of my daily exercise of course).
The woodland can be accessed from many directions but the nearest access to me is from the north-bound slip road to the Forth Road Bridge:

North-bound Slip Road to Forth Road Bridge

As you might expect it was very quiet during shutdown and also because the bridge is only used for public transport and emergency vehicles.
At the bottom of the slip road an entrance through the fence takes you to the southern end of the woodland:

Echline Community Woodland

To give you an idea of what the woodland looked like in November 1992 (when it was simply a farmer's field) I have put together this short video showing the original planting, combined with a view of the woodland now:

Now back to the future; I entered the woodland using the southern pathway, bear in mind these are not formal pathways but have been created over the years by the locals walking through the woods (which was as intended):

Entering the Woods from the Southern End

One of the first things that struck me on entering the woods was how glorious it was having the morning sunshine peeking through the trees, some of which had yet to come in to leaf:

Sunlit Pathway

Morning Sun Through the Trees

As well enjoying the birds singing I was also amazed at the wonderful spring flowers in the woodland,  a splash of colour bursting from the green undergrowth.
There were gorgeous yellow Primroses:

Primrose in the Woods

Gorgeous Yellow Primrose

Just lovely................ as were the stands of Red Campion (yes I know they are pink!):

Red Campion in the Woods

Red Campion among the Trees

Red Campion and Silver Birch

The Silver Birch in the last photo really highlights what a well established 27 year old tree looks like.......... one of my favourite trees........... hence why I have one in my garden.
The most impressive splash of colour was provided by the Bluebells. It would be a lie to say they 'carpeted' the woodland, but there were certainly plenty of then in the woods and most of them were ready to burst in to full flower:

A Stand of Bluebells

Bluebells almost ready to bloom

A carpet of Bluebells? (maybe a rug!)

As well as the sights the sounds were equally impressive, with birds like Blue Tit, Great Tit, Robin, Blackbird, Wood-pigeon, Chaffinch, Wren and others joining in.
A few years back we put in six bird boxes (two each for Blue Tit, Great Tit and Robin) to try and encourage birds to nest in the woodland and it was heartening to see these boxes were still there:

Blue Tit Box

Great Tit Box

Another Blue Tit Box

I was also heartened to see a Blue Tit visiting one of the boxes, it did however fly up in to the canopy by the time I got my camcorder out. Here is the resulting video; I added a slowed down version at the end in case it was too quick to spot:

Not my best video............ but that was the problem.............. I could hear plenty of birds but it was very difficult to see them.............. never mind film them. I also didn't want to dwell too long in the one spot, I was supposed to be on an 'exercise walk' after all. So here are a few pictures of trees:

Wildflowers along the path

Winding Path

Holly Bush

I exited the woodland at the northern end, which comes out near Stewart Terrace.
I then headed along the grassy path which runs along the west side of the woodland and follows a stone wall beside the pathway to the Echline estate.

Northern Path into Woods from Stewart Terrace

On this side of the woodland the Bluebells were in full bloom:

Bluebells in Bloom

Bluebells on West Side of Woodland

Beautiful Bluebells

The Bluebells were not the only flowers in bloom along this western side of the woods, some were more 'wildflower' than others:

Umbilifer (possibly Hedge-parsley) and Honesty

Solitary Yellow Poppy

The yellow poppy was within the wall of the 'Bee and Butterfly Garden' planted mainly with native wildflowers to encourage bees and butterflies. Although it hadn't had its usual Spring tidy up due to the lockdown, the B&B garden had one plant that was really thriving:

Cornflower in the Bee & Butterfly Garden

Cornflower in Full Bloom

Plenty of nectar on tap for the bees and butterflies.
Right next to the B&B garden is a nice bench (kindly donated by the Rotary Club of SQ) which would an ideal place to take a rest for ten minutes if I hadn't been on an 'exercise walk'. From here you get a good view back down the western side of the woods:

Western Grassy Path with B&B Garden on Left

There is also an information sign mounted on a stone cairn in this area:

Echline Community Woodland Information Sign

The sign is getting a bit tired and could do with updating.
Directly opposite the bench and cairn is what I would call the 'main' entrance to the woodland, as it is probably the one most used by the locals.

Main Pathway into Woods

I had a little walk in to the woods at this point and took a few photos:

Entering the woods from the west

Sunburst through the trees

Ivy-clad Tree

I headed back out of the woods towards the bench area then turn left up towards the southern meadow area.
Along the edge of the southern meadow we recently planted 100 trees to form a hedge to mark the southern boundary of ECW. This was done in conjunction with Echline Primary School back in November 2016:

Hedge Planting with Echline Primary School Pupils

Hedge Planted November 2016

They might not seem much different now, but the saplings have really grown in the last three and a half years:

Hedge Saplings May 2020

Rowan Sapling (part of new hedge)

In the November 2016 photo you might also have noticed a bridge being built in the distance, this has also grown up to become the Queensferry Crossing:

Southern Pathway and the Queensferry Crossing

Whilst in this area I was drawn to a bird singing from a tree branch in the woodland, it was a Robin:

They may be common, but are still a delight to hear.

Hope you enjoyed this little trip down to Echline Community Woodland, I will leave you with one last treat; a audio recording of the dawn chorus at ECW, recorded at the beginning of May this year by my friend Huw.
Hope you are able to play this recording okay, pump up the volume and enjoy:

Take care,

Teddy Edward