Forest people
Somewhat hungover this morning, however this was my Own Fault, and Lorraine on the moral high ground having switched early to soda. A leisurely breakfast outside on a little table, and I felt chipper again. We drove off to meet Katie and Ian at the Sculpture Trail in the heart of the Forest of Dean.
Katie and Ian in good spirits, but had also experienced a mysterious jadedness in the morning. A bracing walk in the forest was what was wanted. Having known Katie for so long, and heard all about the Forest and surrounds, I'm really enjoying seeing it all with my own eyes. It is a glorious area.
Hordes in the car park, but these thinned out once we got walking into the forest. Lovely place, dotted with sculptures and the whole walk was a little above five miles. All of the sculptures were worth seeing, and the stained glass hanging in the forest was quite majestic, but it made me wonder if doing a representation in glass of a forest scene in the forest was a bit obvious somehow. However the fact it was cathedral sized made the point that the forest is itself a kind of cathedral.
The Forest had been the site of an illegal rave the night before, a bacchanal that had made national news. Halfway through the walk, we came upon a few bedraggled ravers, amid the smell of weed, and a girl cross legged by the track, assembling her last white lines for her mates. All perfectly harmless, although they made me think of a defeated army, regrouping. At one point a car drove past us through the forest, and the bloke at the wheel shouting that his friend had sunstroke and they needed to get out of the forest. Hot showers, a cup of tea, lots of water and a bit of a lie down was what I would have prescribed. But then I am 60.
Farewells with Kate and Ian in the carpark. It did me the world of good to see Katie with my own eyes, and Lorraine and I really like Ian very much. It is lovely when your friends find good people to be with.
L and I had a cup of tea in the visitors centre benches before home. We had a quiet night in reading. L had walked a good 14k paces today and had done very well. I was very tired, and a boozeless early night was had after a quiet night in eating salad and healthy foods.
Below the stained glass, and two other sculptures, and Lorraine and I snapped by First Matie.
Katie and Ian in good spirits, but had also experienced a mysterious jadedness in the morning. A bracing walk in the forest was what was wanted. Having known Katie for so long, and heard all about the Forest and surrounds, I'm really enjoying seeing it all with my own eyes. It is a glorious area.
Hordes in the car park, but these thinned out once we got walking into the forest. Lovely place, dotted with sculptures and the whole walk was a little above five miles. All of the sculptures were worth seeing, and the stained glass hanging in the forest was quite majestic, but it made me wonder if doing a representation in glass of a forest scene in the forest was a bit obvious somehow. However the fact it was cathedral sized made the point that the forest is itself a kind of cathedral.
The Forest had been the site of an illegal rave the night before, a bacchanal that had made national news. Halfway through the walk, we came upon a few bedraggled ravers, amid the smell of weed, and a girl cross legged by the track, assembling her last white lines for her mates. All perfectly harmless, although they made me think of a defeated army, regrouping. At one point a car drove past us through the forest, and the bloke at the wheel shouting that his friend had sunstroke and they needed to get out of the forest. Hot showers, a cup of tea, lots of water and a bit of a lie down was what I would have prescribed. But then I am 60.
Farewells with Kate and Ian in the carpark. It did me the world of good to see Katie with my own eyes, and Lorraine and I really like Ian very much. It is lovely when your friends find good people to be with.
L and I had a cup of tea in the visitors centre benches before home. We had a quiet night in reading. L had walked a good 14k paces today and had done very well. I was very tired, and a boozeless early night was had after a quiet night in eating salad and healthy foods.
Below the stained glass, and two other sculptures, and Lorraine and I snapped by First Matie.
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