Judy Woods

Wednesday 4th June 2025

Leader: Mary Twentyman / Friends of Judy Woods

On a warm Thursday, members of BBG joined the Friends of Judy Woods to explore the flora in their fascinating, and clearly much loved, patch of woodland. On arrival, Mary gave us an introduction to the history of the woods which, like many West Yorkshire woodlands, has over the centuries been used in turn for mining, industry and recreation. http://www.judywoods.org.uk/intro.html is worth a look for more detail on the history.

At the start of the woods there were mature Beech (Fagus sylvatica), planted possibly for bobbin wood, possibly because beech was then fashionable. Any gaps are slowly being replaced with birch and oak.

I was introduced to Wavy Bitter-cress (Cardamine flexuosa) and given some tips on how to distinguish it from other bittercresses. We then saw Remote Sedge (Carex remota), and a little later some Opposite-leaved Golden-saxifrage (Chrysosplenium oppositifolium), Dog's Mercury (Mercurialis perennis), Wood Melick (Melica uniflora), Wood Millet (Milium effusum) and Wood-sorrel (Oxalis acetosella). We also saw, along the same lane, Broad-leaved Helleborine (Epipactis helleborine).

We stopped for lunch in a buttercup filled glade with convenient fallen tree seats and finished the day with a visit to the site of the original Judy’s Garden and a walk along the dramatically undercut Royds Hall Beck.

Text by Helen G

Photographs by Neil