Woodland Wonders

A happy coincidence meant that on the first night of Kathryn's stay was a very special event at Glean wood. Glenan wood is classified as a rainforest, and as darkness falls it comes alive with glowing organisms in a breathtaking display of biofluorescence. The nighttime walk revealed incredible hidden wonders of the forest, showcasing nature's glowing secrets under the cover of night.

Our guide for the night was the very knowledgable and excitable David Atthowe of Reveal Nature. There is a man who is passionate about his subject and absolutely fascinating. David said Glenan Community Woodland is 'the best site I have ever seen for bioflouresence in the whole of the UK'. He led us through the trees, each of us wearing red light head torches so as not to ruin our night vision. He knew where there were particularly good spots to find bioluminscent plants, but the insects were something we had to look for along the way. There is a surprising number of things that glow under UV light.

We had a really wonderful walk and will never look at nature in the same way again!