Avill Valley in North Hawkwell Woods , Exmoor National Park

If you know Exmoor you will probably know this location as Snowdrop Valley. The photographs taken on 15th Feb 2007 show some of the magic of this beautifully conserved natural wonder, but you really have to see it for yourself. It made me think of William Wordsworth's poem,written almost exactly 200 years ago, " I wandered lonely as a Cloud....". Having just read it again I am sure he could have written it after visiting this place. Lines in verse two say,

"Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance"
and again in verse three,
"I gazed- and gazed- but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought"

But there is much more than just drifts of snowdrops. People travel 1000's of miles to visit rain forest but in this very steep sided valley in an area with good rainfall the walk shows an equally fascinating display of lichens, mosses, ferns and fungi and its right in our own back garden!. If anyone can identify them for me from the photographs I would be grateful.