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Barnard Castle is particularly fortunate in having close to the town, not only the River Tees itself, but also its tributaries which flow through beautifully wooded valleys. The most readily accessible of these streams is Percy Beck which at first flows through open countryside and then as it nears the town, enters Flatts Woods, one of Barnard Castle's great attractions.
The woods are well supplied with paths and seats, providing opportunities for brisk walks or quiet strolls at every season of the year in natural surroundings adjoining the town.
One experienced traveller who was spending a short time in Barnard Castle remarked that the knew no other town where a person could post a letter in the town centre and then, after a five minute walk, be in such a beautiful woodland surrounding.
The wood consists of a wide variety of trees, both evergreen and deciduous, and affords a constantly changing pattern of colour according to the time of year. The leaves of the beech trees are particularly attractive in late spring and early summer, for example, but the bare branches have their own beauty in winter particularly after a light covering of snow.
Flowering plants which thrive in dappled light grow in abundance. The first to appear is the Dog's Mercury, an unusual plant in that it has green flowers. It can be seen at the side of the paths in early spring and is joined by the Wood Anemones; their white petals tinted with mauve, tremble in the breeze, giving them their other name of 'windflowers'. Mingling with them, but also preferring barer patches of ground,the shining golden Lesser Celandines provide a contrast with the Anemones.
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