My daughter recently joined the RSPB, having accosted a no-doubt astonished RSPB salesperson in the middle of Tunbridge Wells as he and his band of merry colleagues were promoting the charity on a Saturday morning in the town centre. Apparently she saw the logo and, on remembering how much fun she and her siblings had had when they were younger with birdwatching and other wildlife-related activities, had signed up there and then. “Oh – I was homeschooled” was her explanation to the bemused chap with his clipboard.
Having received her membership card and other goodies, she wanted to go to a reserve and I saw that there was one near Eridge Green, called Broadwater Forest, a few miles from where Rose and her boyfriend live. It’s open to all so no membership strictly necessary but we’d never have gone there otherwise so, still worth doing!
We had lunch, and then headed off for our walk.
There’s a mixture of wet woodland and former plantation. We saw clumps of frogspawn in the iron-rich water, and there were boardwalks through the mossy, Lord-of-the-Rings-esque areas. It was muddy but enchanting, and my dog Ned had a marvellous time. He wasn’t very helpful when I tried to look through my binoculars, but I managed to see a Dartford Warbler, a Green Woodpecker and a Goldcrest, as well as Robins, Blackbirds and Great, Blue, and Coal Tits.
It was really fun, and I’m pleased to see my daughter following in my footsteps! To be honest, all my children are great wildlife enthusiasts which really warms my heart.
Yes, that’s my scarf…but I did manage to unwrap it off her and get it back before leaving!
