Then and Now
Managed or not, woodland is constantly changing. This view below is of 'The Well Walk' in 1907. Then as now, birch and bracken predominate, but a large evergreen is apparent in the centre. It's possible this is the path in Well Wood, rather than the Great Wood proper, although it does look striaght as most of the North-South paths do.
A number of photographs of the wood from around 1970 are shown below, with a modern view of the same location. Clicking on each photograph will bring up a very large version of each image.
Before the extension to the car park, the way out was very close to the way in. Now, this old path has disappeared amongst a mass of rhododendron.
The signboard and honesty box were placed between the red route entrance and the 'prayer stone'. This shows the old routes of the coloured trails.
At the far northern side of the Red Route is the 'Hut Glade' as it is still known. The hut can just be seen in the old photograph but all traces of it have now disappeared.
Here is a close-up of the old hut.
