But within a radius of 30 yards from where people get out of their cars a surprising number of interesting things can be seen and heard, that are in some cases absent from the rest of the 450 acres.
This orchid, one of the Marsh Orchids, has just begun to flower alongside the track and will become more attractive in the days to come.
The displays of Buttercups and Cow Parsley have already been mentioned and soon Ragged Robin will appear. A patch of Ramsons with their characteristic garlic smell has just ceased flowering.
The bird life is also notable. Here the songs of Blackcap, Song Thrush, Blackbird and others are louder than anywhere else on Blacka. At times we could believe ourselves in a tropical rain forest, odd considering this is one of the coldest parts of the site.
And ^Goldfinches are rarely absent adding more colour to the scenem. This being favoured by birds must owe a lot to the benign neglect to date of the vegetation around the Rhododendon. Here bramble and nettles etc. are impenetrable but doubtless fine places for birds to build. In fact everything contributes with grand cover below, the mid -height Rhododendron and the tall pines and Sycamore towering above; water is plentiful as the stream flows under and across the road from Houndkirk.
It's something of a puzzle that the restless managers haven't intervened here before now especially considering their reluctance to ask chain saw operatives and volunteers to stray far from the car park. Perhaps this is just too close: they like to think they've walked for a few minutes before starting work, it just feels more right?
Almost forgotten was the winter spectacle viewable from here, the Jackdaws jousting with commuter traffic on their morning flights westward.
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