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Rising uphill behind the picturesque village of Burton is an attractive wooded area commanding superb views across the Dee Estuary to the hills of North Wales.
Take a leisurley stroll through mature mixed woodland and follow a self-guided trail between the towering Scots pines and giant sweet chestnuts.
History
Burton Mill Wood takes its name from the mill which once stood on the hilltop above Burton Village. Remains of the mill building dating from 1774 can still be seen though they now lie in a private garden.
Tree planting was undertaken in the last century to provide firewood and to give cover for rearing pheasant. The Gladstone family, which bought the estate in 1902, used the wood for pheasant shoots and put much of it out of bounds to improve the site for the sport.
Quakers' Graves
Alongside the footpath at the back of St Nicholas' church lie two graves of a man and his wife, believed to be Quakers. Although they remain somewhat of a mystery, it is almost certain that they belong to excommunicates who were deliberately buried outside consecrated ground, though the reason for this is unknown.
Plant life
The wood is a mixture of Scots pine plantations and deciduous woodland such as sweet chestnut and English oak. Other species include horse chestnut, rowan, hawthorn and the invasive rhododendron. The sweet scent of woodland plants such as lady's smock, wood sorrel and fox glove mixes with the damp earthy smell of decaying vegetation where, in open spaces, you might spot fungi such as stink horn, shaggy ink cao and jew's ear. In spring wild hyacinths, snowdrops and bluebells carpet the ground.
Animals
The rich undergrowth provides cover for small animals such as hedgehogs, moles, frogs and toads, whilst the higher branches of trees, grey squirrels and pipestrell bats dart between the leaves.
Birdlife
Stop and listen to the woodland sounds - the distinctive tapping of the green and great spotted woodpeckers, song of the wood warblers and nocturnal call of the tawny and little owls. Look out for the colourful jays and goldcrests amid common garden birds such as wrens, starlings and blackbirds.
