I've read Ian talk about kissing gates before. You haven't been paying attention, guys - this has been a known unknown for years!
In fact, until Ian used the term some years ago, I had had no idea what the enclosed swing gates that I had been going through were called! Your very painstaking diagrams, Duane are broadly correct. There is also a version that has a quarter circle that the gate passes round. You open the gate, there is enough room then to pass round the edge of the gate and then it naturally shuts either way.
The new woods I found were great. I have yet to establish whether they are in fact
little used, which was my meaning, Duane. Sorry about the lack of clarity there. As I have mentioned before, I go to watercolour art class once a week and have found this is a short drive from a patch of woodland which is up a steep hill at a popular local beauty spot. Get off the paths and into the woods on a damp afternoon and you can be alone with your thoughts and without your clothes. This week we have been experiencing some great and hot sunny weather and on Tuesday I went to the above wood to find a record number of cars in the little car park and many people in view along the trail. I decided to give it a miss and drove on to see where the narrow road to the woods went. The woods extended a long way beyond where you can get to.
About a mere half a mile on I found another car park and clear, well maintained signs to a Woodland Trust wood. This looked a well developed walkers woodland and was mostly on the flat. As I parked there was one other car and a couple strolling off along the well made paths. Someone else drew up as I prepared to hike. Not really much prospect of nudity.
About 100yards into the wood I took out my phone for a time check and also looked at the gps maps. I was surprised to find that the wood looked very low and very thin for trees in most of its area and the vista in front of me matched that. Woodland Trust you see - they grow trees and manage forests. The whole area was a plantation. The map satellite pictures however indicated about 4 patches of much thicker more mature woodland across the road. I retraced my steps and crossed the road where a gate (kissing) desported a welcome sign. Prospect not much better. As I walked in I noted immediately that the sward of grass had been mowed into tracks and as is my wont, I started along one of these to establish where I was and what the prospects were for plunging into the woodland. I also noted that these mowed paths were very lush, green and grassy with much clover. They were not very well walked on by any means. This was good.
I walked the paths until I had got several hundred yards from the road and entrance and whilst there were still cut paths, there were several large (maybe 2-3 acre) sections of woodland, divided by small meadows. I thought I spotted a deer heading off in the distance. Might have been a big dog but later on I spotted some deer spoor so it probably was a deer.
The perimeter of each wooded area was bounded by beech and other hedging and low bushes forming a fence about 6-10 feet high. Finding a little gap in one section of hedge I worked my way into the wood. So far (15-20mins) I had seen and heard no one. The trees were laid out in rows in plantation fashion and the ground was damp but not muddy and there were many dry twigs on the ground which meant that when you walk, you make quite a noise. This was great. If there were anyone off the mowed paths, I would hear them.
The terrain was rather too open for me. You could see a long way and that meant seclusion was maybe less possible. But the air was warm and balmy and the sun dappling the scene was begging me to get naked. I walked on a short way more and got out of sight of the perimeter hedges. I then realised that I WAS secluded by virtue of the sight screen of the hedges – only visible to someone actually in the midst of the wood. So now was the time. I was fully equipped with pack and zip pocket trousers so I had but to undress which I did and stood a while listening for possible encounters. Nothing.
The terrain was flat and the undergrowth very sparse, so it did not really matter where I was, the cover or lack of it was the same. So I did an unusual thing for me – I took my fast cover shorts out of my bag, packed my clothes carefully – Trousers at bottom, then shirt available to pull out quickly – and putting my walking boots back on bare feet, I began to walk freely amongst the trees. I also noted that I passed through the occasional strand of spider gossamer – another good sign that no one has passed this way very recently.
You all know how good that feels. The gentle movement of air, the feeling of being one with nature, the joy of naked freedom for a while. And so I wandered around for a while then set a course back to the perimeter of this wooded section using GPS to navigate. More fearless these days (perhaps unwisely) and more confident now that there were no other walkers nearby, I walked right to the edge of the wood and only donned my shorts and shirt a few feet from a convenient hole in the hedge, in full view of the meadow and mown path. No one in sight. I had been walking for another 15-20’.
Sorry guys, I didn’t take any pictures because the business of posing and arranging the camera REALLY takes your mind off being vigilant. However, as I walked along the path this beautiful peacock butterfly landed on my skin coloured shorts. I waved it away, it flew off, circled and came right back! This happened twice more so I took this picture.
As I strolled along a different mown path than I had come in on, again I noticed again the lush ill-trodden quality of the sward. I took off my shoes and walked the last quarter mile barefoot on cool, soft, yielding grass and clover. When I got to the gate and inspected my feet to put my shoes back on they were still clean. As I have observed before, nature, left to itself is rarely grubby. ??
I felt great when I got back to the car. A woman, unloading her dog bid me good afternoon and asked if I’d had a good walk. “Oh YES”, I said emphatically “and excellent hike”.
So I have concluded that one side of this forest plantation is less well used. However, one afternoon’s experience may not be the norm – but given that it was a beautiful day for a hike and judging by the 6 or 7 cars that had parked since I arrived, people do seem to go into the wood/heath on that side of the road. Suffice it to say that I shall be back there before long. It did deem to me that it would be perfect for a dawn walk. At dawn one probably didn’t need to be dressed on the paths.
So YES! I finally found what will hopefully turn out to be a great SN walking range.
On another tack - If you recall, I reported another recce walk last Sunday that was completely abortive being too heavily populated with houses and walkers. The photo below shows a stretch of the lovely river that would have been marvellous to walk along – it looks deserted doesn’t it?
It isn’t! In fact, the left-hand bank is fenced off further upstream with warning private land signs so you can’t enter. It is someone’s paddock at the other side of the trees. On the right hand, you can see a fence preventing you from getting to the river, once again signposted. In the middle distance is a patch of flat grass on the right. This gives on to the public footpath (well used on that day) and in seeing distance beyond is a manor house and other homes and buildings. This is the sort of congestion we live with in the UK – and this is the outskirts of a rural village – no metropolis.
John
