Seeing as I had to drive to Norfolk on this day I thought that I would make a slight detour and visit one of ESSEX WILDLIFE TRUSTS nature reserves. COPPERAS WOOD is an ancient woodland situated on the edge of the Stour Estuary just outside Wrabness with pathways leading through the trees and then onto the river edge via a trial shared with the RSPB.
On my visit I was lucky enough to park up outside the gates to the woodland but there is an RSPB car park a stones throw up the road if needed. Walking through he gate you follow a wide track for a short distance before entering the woodland proper, this is a nice walk of its own account with a large white, odd house on the left to admire as you stroll along. At the actual woodland entrance is a nice big info board displaying the tracks you can take as well some of the wildlife you might be able to see along the way. I followed the path that lead to the right and walked that as far as possible before taking a left turn and heading down towards the railway line. In all the time I was there, mid week as well, I think only 1 train went past. Now being in the middle of winter there is not an awful lot of growth going on but I do like walking through the woods when there is barely any leaves on the trees and bushes as I get a better feel for the place. Although there was very little colour in the woods someone had hung painted shells from branches in various places and each had a hand painted picture or quote upon them. I thought they were pretty cool actually and gave an added little bit of interest looking out for them.
Walking along a track that runs parallel with the railway line I soon came to a bridge that crossed the tracks and headed towards the estuary. I would loved to off followed it and walked down to the river but unfortunately I was on a bit of a schedule so could not spend too much time wandering around these beautiful parts. Following the track back to where I originally started I took a different pathway which took me through the middle of the woodland this time before I took another track and did a loop back to the beginning.
Along the tracks I spotted a lot of small ‘bird boxes’ 3-4 foot above ground level and I believe these are for dormice to nest so that they can be counted. Copperas Wood is in fact an SSSI woodland which has been left to regrow naturally since the storms of 1987 devastated the area. Yous can see how many trees must of come down as the woodland is still littered will fallen trees. I came across a few nicely located benches to sit and have a rest whilst watching the wildlife, which I always like to see.
As mentioned I did not have a lot of time to spend exploring this beautiful woodland but I will definitely be returning in the Spring as I can imagine there will be a lot of wild flowers to see. I recorded my walk around these woods in my KOMOOT account so if you want to see the exact route I took then click HERE.
