For most visitors, the Tudor house of Speke Hall, with all its rich history and magnificence, is the star of the show here. But right next door, Stockton’s Wood has a history all of its own.
Today, on a chilly winter day, there’s no escaping that right now this ancient woodland is an important “deadwood” site. It’s rich in veteran trees and fallen branches, and has a stunning diversity of mosses and fungi. Pausing by a fallen oak, I count slime mould pimpling the bark, several species of small but perfectly formed bracket fungi, and candlesnuff fungus, fungal mycelium lurking where once sap flowed. A wind-thrown silver birch is caught in a sycamore’s embrace.
