Kara-Moon Forum

Sometimes it takes just a very small change for you to see something familiar in a totally new way. In my case, the 'familiar' is my favourite patch of woodland (Denge Wood) that I've been walking regularly for 10 to 15 years.

I've settled into a sort of routine when I go there of going more or less in a circle but varying the exact paths I take. There is just one section of bridleway that I always walk because it is the only practical one if I'm to avoid going over my own tracks. I also tend to regard it as rather boring. It is on the Eastern side of a wide valley, dead straight and near the top, but lined quite thickly with trees so you don't really get to see the valley.

Typically the walk takes me 2-3 hours, and I start with the above mentioned section. Again I usually start at around 9:30 so that at the end of my walk I'm ready for a short drive to lunch at a nearby pub.

Yesterday (Saturday) I had been visiting friends, and decided that rather than use the motorways I'd go home via the back roads. This meant I would go right past Denge Wood. Also, after several days of miserable dull weather it was brilliant sunshine that evening. On a whim I decided to have a walk. It was about 6:30 in the evening, so with clear skies I knew I'd have plenty of time.

There really must have been something strange in the air, because for some reason I also decided to walk round the opposite way to normal. Although approaching places from the 'wrong' direction, I know the woods well and there were no surprises. As I walked the sun got lower, and a refreshing breeze picked up. The birds and animals began to settle and there was that pleasant evening quietness.

The sun was now well down streaming across the valley almost horizontal as I rounded a bend to the 'boring' bridleway and... I stopped totally stunned by a sight I have never seen before. A bridle way laced with pure gold! But not just any gold. It was liquid gold, continually shifting as the trees swayed slightly in the breeze creating softly changing threads and patches of sunlight. Walking along there was like entering a magical kingdom.

I don't know if similar circumstances will ever arise again, but in any case. That little patch is forever changed in my mind.

I have always made it a point to bring a camera along for any such circumstances that come about....really wish you had a camera with you,as that would have been quite a sight to see in a photo.


-Thom

It takes a willingness to live in the moment and step outside one's petty concerns to recognize and enjoy such opportunities. Hats off to you, Will - and thanks for your rendition of the experience... :-*