With the weather being as damp, cold and thoroughly miserable, (or is that me?) we've rather badly neglected the need to walk. Like, walk for some decent time and distance. The ten minute walk to Budgens doesn't really fit the bill, and walking around any of the several nearby blocks of houses soon becomes very boring. But yesterday, the sun was out, the sky was blue, there was not a cloud to spoil the view, so we drove the couple of miles to Heartwood Forest. (Yes, we could have walked that, too, but we were out of practice, and afraid that we might be too zonked to walk back.)
The forest’s 858-acre site rises from what was once mainly agricultural land. It’s so big that it’s now the largest continuous new native forest in England. It's still young, and, apart from an area of ancient bluebell woods, doesn't fit one's normal understanding of a forest. But it's beautiful, and it was a privilege to be there.
This is the best we could do to get a photo of one of the myriad skylarks that could be heard in the trees and hedges all the way along our walk.
A local wood carver was employed to create features along the way. The rabbit in the first photo is one of many wild animals carved out of a tree trunk. This archway is made of huge pieces of local oak, carved with intricate designs.
There are several routes to follow.
This is to remind us what the boat looks like. The way things are at the moment, we just might be able to return to her in April. Roll on!
That was a very lovely walk, Roger. I like the wood carvings. It's a delightful way to make something of the old tree trunks and that gateway is fabulous. Fingers crossed for a return to Kantara in April!!
ReplyDeleteWe're counting the days, Val!
ReplyDelete