I asked the boys (no, not those boys, nor those, the SMMS boys) for some advice on climbing these lovely specimens. The consensus so far is to start at the bottom, although B is still thinking.
"Time has a different quality in a forest, a different kind of flow. Time moves in circles, and events are linked, even if it's not obvious that they are linked. Events in a forest occur with precision in the flow of tree time, like the motions of an endless dance." The Wild Trees, Richard Preston
It's a bit daunting, so I think I'll start with this one. And work my way up.
Hands up if you're a happy tree!
Or a tree all on your own.
Or a group of trees all in a respectful line. Must be British trees. Always in a queue.
The cows are strip-grazing1 along the lower meadows. If you look really closely (or zoom in a looooooooot) you can glimpse the pod.
They're keeping the lonely tree company.
Walking through (or maybe along) wheat fields to (one of) the lonely trees. It's about as far as we get these days.
Evening dog walk with Chris and Kim. The mist rising from the fields as the sun slowly sunk below the horizon. Magical.
I love this tree, it's by the car park at the clumps. I can never quite capture it, which is probably part of its charm.
On the edge of the meadows is a lonely tree. There’s fragments of fencing like this all over the place .
The boys woke up early – so an excellent excuse to get up and out for a (very) early morning ride to the clumps and back. Starting at a misty two-trees in the field next to the lane.
Lonely tree on, I think, Brightwell Barrow, was mist free.
Amazing views from the clumps – of mist filled river valleys.
And morning arrivals into London-Heathrow.
By the time I got back to Shillingford Bridge the rest of the world was beginning to wake up.
Super day to be out and about.