IF you are hankering to walk through the trees one place this side of Gloucester where you can go without foot and mouth restrictions is the nature reserve at Highnam Woods.

The woods, which are on the A40 about three miles west of Gloucester, have been open again since mid-May and the mile-and-a-half long nature trail can be walked at any time.

Nightingales are what the wood is best known for and about 20 males have been singing there this spring. They sing best in May but when I walked round last week there was still odd snatches of nightingale song. Even if the skulking nightingales are missed there are many other birds to see in the woods.

Blackcaps, song thrushes and blackbirds all sang well this year. The blackbird was recently voted the nation's favourite songster, comfortably beating the renowned nightingale and even the skylark. And cuckoos were well represented at Highnam, the one site where I have heard them regularly this year.

The only other place I've heard a cuckoo was near Parkend church and a number of people have commented to me on not having heard cuckoos at all. They certainly seem to be well down in numbers this year.

Highnam is an ancient woodland. Being on clay soils and very wet it has never been cultivated like the surrounding farmland. Even though alien trees such as Douglas fir and larch have been planted there (they are gradually being taken out) the wood has many species of native trees and shrubs. The basic woodland is a mixture of oak and ash with an understorey of things like field maple, privet, spindle, buckthorn, guelder rose, blackthorn and hawthorn.

A wild service tree that has recently been given more light has flowered profusely this year and the white blossoms could be seen a hundred yards away.

The most uncommon flower at Highnam is the rare but unspectacular Tintern spurge. It flourishes in disturbed ground and can be found right at the edge of the reserve car-park.

Butterflies can be seen all summer along the woodland rides and glades. They are often numerous and about 25 different kinds have been seen. Orange tips were very common this spring and a few late ones are still flying.

Summer species include white admiral, wood white and the strangely named white letter hairstreak, a small butterfly which can be identified by a white W-shaped marking on its underwing. Another insect that I have seen more often at Highnam than elsewhere is the huge orange and yellow hornet.

Last year there was a hornet's nest in one of the bird boxes but fortunately not until after the end of the bird nesting season.

Walking the nature trail at Highnam you will see areas that have been cut back and thinned in recent years. This work is aimed at providing the right breeding conditions for nightingales. As the cut areas regrow they form a very dense thicket and this scrub is where nightingales nest. The management is keeping the nightingale population stable at 20 pairs but they are right on the edge of their British range and nationally their numbers are declining.

A few words about visiting. The wood is a wet one and the paths can be muddy after rain so go well shod. There is also a healthy population of mosquitoes so cover up if you are allergic to insect bites lather on the insect repellant.

The wood is a nature reserve but dogs are allowed as long as they are kept on leads. So if you are suffering woodland withdrawal symptoms try a walk at Highnam.

It must just keep you going until we are allowed back into our own Forest woodlands!