RICHARD WILLIAMSON Country Walk...Cognor Wood, Haslemere

Minor road into Kingsley Green off the A286 takes you up on to the Marley Heights and two National Trust car parks roadside at SU887311. Find blue arrow (Sussex Border Path) west off road into holly tunnel.

Straight oaks and grand Scots pines show the sandy soil. Note a small clump of bilberry plants (Vaccinium myrtillus) on the right bank.

Keep on west at mock Tudor houses and horse paddocks and huge hollies on your left.

At the house called Harboury note how the beech trees have grown into a mock life-size giraffe. Very curious and photogenic.

Back into another holly tunnel. Here I heard great spotted woodpeckers drumming and you’ll see peck marks on many dead branches throughout this walk.

Also plenty of woodland birds such as nuthatch, great, blue, marsh and coal tits.

Look for left turn, yellow arrow, over rustic stile into meadow with post and rails.

Note the epicormic growths on the oak and the hollow branch owl hole above the stile. Also squirrel teeth marks on ivy stems.

Obvious path southwest to left of larch and Scots pines to another sturdy stile.

It is now downhill to Pond Moor through the chestnut coppice. Halfway down the plantation of Douglas firs hold a few goldcrests singing.