ON a surprisingly warm and sunny late autumn day, I took time off to join my wife, one of my daughters, two of her sons and two visiting dogs on a walk through one of our forests in the Howardian Hills.

Comprising chiefly conifers with a large number of colourful larches about to lose their needles along with some deciduous trees in full colour, the hillside forest offers wonderful walks with streams and a lake plus an interesting variety of wild life. As this is partially a deciduous forest, it produces a wealth of wild plants along the lanes and open areas.

Horse riders and other dog walkers were evident, but the dogs and horses seemed happy to accommodate one another in peace and there was no sign of dog fights or nervous horses.

One of “our” dogs was a tiny black pup with a lot of poodle in her genes, and from the moment we left the car, it was evidence she was in her seventh heaven. She was only four months old and usually lived in the city; never before, I suspect, had she experienced such a huge open world of freedom, excitement, fascinating smells and new discoveries.

One problem she did encounter was that if she galloped through the undergrowth on her exploratory missions, some problems awaited.

These came in the form of the seeds of both the goosegrass and the burdock. Both these plants produce seeds which are covered with hooked bracts; these attach themselves to the coats of animals which brush past and in this way, manage to distribute themselves once the animals have found the means to remove them.

Our little companion soon realised how troublesome were those seeds; she could find them and with her teeth remove the larger burdock burrs, but the smaller goosegrass seeds were not so easy to dispose of.

She spent a lot of time removing those burrs from her front legs and chest and we helped her to get ride of many, but the moment she was free of them, she galloped back into the undergrowth in sheer exuberance and immediately collected more seeds.

Oddly enough, the larger, older and wiser dog kept away from such dangers and managed to avoid the burrs.

Curiously both these plants once had uses both as medicines and as salads. The seeds of goosegrass were collected and used as a type of coffee whilst the young shoots, if harvested in the spring, could be cooked as vegetables.

Once known as cleaves, juices of the plant were also used as a slimming aid. The young stalks of burdock were formerly used as vegetables or added to meat broth when peeled and chopped, and were also efficient in easing sores, ulcers and even sciatica.

One bird we spotted in full song was a robin, one of the few species to sing during the autumn.They are known to sing throughout the year and sometimes even at night in the light of a street lamp. The song can be sad and wistful but nonetheless, it was a welcome addition to our autumn walk in that colourful woodland.

Another bird that can sometimes be heard and occasionally seen in coniferous forests, woodlands and even in churchyards among yew trees, is the tiny goldcrest. This is Britain’s smallest bird, tinier even than the wren and although there is a native population in our islands, we do receive migrants from northern Scandinavia around this time of year.

The probability is that goldcrests are often heard before they are seen, and in fact that happened during our woodland visit. Whilst walking through a patch of larch trees, now shedding their foliage of needles, we heard the distinctive calls of a goldcrest.

They consist of high-pitched notes that sound like tsee, tsee, but the birds are so tiny and well camouflaged that it is difficult to spot them among the trees. Small flocks can appear during the winter months and sometimes these will join other species such as blue tits and great tits.

Smaller than a bluetit the goldcrest’s main colouring is a rather dull green on the upper parts and paler below but its main method of identification is a highly visible crest of yellow with black edges.

This is slightly duller on the female but if the bird is alarmed, it may raise the crest in an aggressive display.

Its near relation is the firecrest of similar appearance, size and habitat, except that its crest comprises a bright orange stripe bordered by black edges with white stripes over the eyes. I have to admit I can’t recall ever seeing a firecrest.

It all means that a woodland walk at any time of year with or without dogs will be full of interest.