Tag: woods
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24/07/23 – Late sun, long grass and an alarmed wren
It was the end of the day, the end of the weekend and I was exhausted by life admin when I dragged myself out for a walk. I walked past the patch of heathland where cars always linger, past the tangled bracken and high nettles. I slipped through a break in the woods, off the…
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03/07/23 – Old Roman walls and neck high nettles
At the weekend we went to the old Roman town of Silchester. From the car park, the path followed the edge of a field, where circular bales of hay stood proud on the fresh shorn grass, now yellow from the sun. Through a couple of gates we turned right, following the bridleway where it dipped…
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11/06/23 – Swirling river weed and bursting thistles
Went for a walk by the river at the end of my friend’s street. The evening was warm still and we saw a swan family pulled out by the weir, the parents with their strong snaking necks, the big fluffy babies huddling against the wall. The parents raised their heads and stared at us until…
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16/04/23 – Bog myrtle and hollow tree trunks in the Lake District
We started on the road at the national trust car park, after talking to a ranger about the amount of rubbish left behind. We reached a gate and turned across a field, the lake and the mountains to our right across the long grass. We crossed a bridge and paused to watch a dog madly…
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11/03/23 – Seals and roosting rooks in Norfolk
I walked down the slope towards the waves and their heads popped out; sleek dark bodies, everywhere. Big dark eyes, backs curving out of a cresting wave. I was told there’d be seals here, but I never thought they’d be so instant, so obvious. I walked beside the water, waves white and loud, rushing into…
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06/02/23 – Cleared undergrowth and snowdrops
Yesterday I found that the undergrowth in the wood has been cleared. The narrow path I usually squeeze down is wide now, the bracken and brambles gone, with only a few brown stalks left to show what was once there, what has been there for years. The trees still made a tunnel overhead, and I…
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21/01/23 – Frozen sunset in the woods
On the way to the woods I spotted the furry buds of a magnolia. The end of one branch had snapped, leaving a silky prong on the pavement. I picked it up and carried it with me. The birds were loud as I went through the gate and up the mulchy path. I don’t know…
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11/01/23 – A falling down fort and an early moon
Yesterday I went to the end of the road and down the back lane to where a small track runs off into the undergrowth. The path was sticky after so much rain, but solid still, bouncy underfoot. I walked along the back of the houses until I came to the woods, then turned down the…
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22/12/22 – Low Tide
Yesterday I was tired and more than anything, I wanted to swim. I headed for the little bay next to the main sands but on the other, quieter side of the harbour wall. There was a huge digger on the ramp down to it, along with workmen in high viz jackets. I could see the…
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19/12/22 – Snow melt
Now the rain is melting the snow, but a few days ago everything was ice. The pavements were ridged with glass, the roads thick with compressed snow and criss-crossed with tyre marks. I went again and again to the woods, down through the tree tunnel, where the branches curve over the sky at every level…
Bonnie Radcliffe 