Country diary: May the circle be unbroken | Mark Cocker

Shimpling, Suffolk: An imperfect ring of wonderful milkcap toadstools brings to mind how the landscape here is supposed to beThrough the foliage it just looked like some weird plasticated white mess across the ground. Only when you went under the bushes to the exact spot could you see the real magic. It was an almost perfect circle of fungi, and each toadstool a creamy plate - glistening, succulent and as fleshy as a fillet of ox liver - and probably one of 30-plus species known as milkcaps.It struck me as a metaphor for this place, Alpheton Hall Wood. In spring it is strewn with flowers and ringing with birdsong. Most special among the multi-coloured carpet is the soft lemon of oxslips, because Alpheton is one of a suite of Suffolk sites celebrated for being among Britain's best ancient woodlands and of national wildlife importance. Continue reading...