Oxshott Heath

I woke up early as I had a half formed plan to go get some photos of the sunrise...but I was too lazy and tired and so just snuggled back down in my bed! It turned out to be a beautiful sunny morning and so after breakfast I took Murdoch for a walk on Oxshott Heath.

The Heath has been designated a Site of  Special Scientific Interest. It's soil of siliceous sand has never been suitable for crops but coarse grass, heather and pine thrive well there. A few years ago it was the centre of a much controversy as the conservators took the decision to fell many trees to preserve the long term health of the forest and the heath and to protect the rare wildlife, which is under threat as the heathland  disappears. I remember it being more dense with many more trees but today it is an open heathland, and thankfully these magnificent tall Scots Pines still stand.

Later I met a friend for a light lunch - a flat white and smashed avo on (gluten free) toast. When I was very young we had huge avocado trees in our garden, and I grew up thinking they were fairly common things - funny how today smashed avo is the latest thing, often served with poached eggs on top.

I packed today for my trip as tomorrow morning I have another event for the school arts society - at least it is very local and will only take the morning, giving me enough time to get to the airport tomorrow evening.