Spring sunshine and mature beech trees bursting into leaf made an idyllic setting for walks with the dogs at the weekend, and as a bonus we had the whole place to ourselves.   Mary found a little track from the caravan site which led into this magnificent beech wood on the Burn Estate in Glen Esk.

How the dogs loved to scamper through the dry beech leaves on the ground, in between exploring far and wide.  Memories of days long ago came back to me – out with my grandfather in beech woods very near here, collecting leaf mould for him to mix compost to grow his bedding plants.

During the two days we were there the leaves came further out and the hint of bright green on the branches became more distinct.

The path through the woods led to a gate in a field with a pond.  The water seemed to have overtaken some conifers.  They looked dead, but they made an interesting picture.

From here the woods changed to birch, the type of tree that you can find all up Glen Esk.  Smaller, and now with lush grass growing below.

On our way back to our van we came across this beech tree carved with memories, some going back nearly  seventy years.  Clearly we had not been the first people to walk in these woods.