Continuing to spread some light and pleasure to those confined by the current crisis. See post 1, here, for an explanation.

This is the 7^th post.

Early morning, warm sunshine this morning took us to one of our favourite spots in the local forest. A commercial stand of conifers, planted at generous intervals by the Forestry Commission, has been allowed to mature. The darkness beneath their evergreen canopy means there’s little undergrowth, and the ground is mostly carpeted in soft green moss made even softer by myriad dropped pine needles. For reasons neither of us can quite grasp, the place has an air of mystery, almost magic, about it and we’re able to wander among the trees without using the few paths that crisscross the wood. It invariably raises our spirits, so I hope it’ll do the same for you.

We returned via a very different path, known by older locals as the Dark Lane. Home mostly to rough birch and slowly maturing beech, the path follows what was once a track used by horse-drawn carts, and, toward the end of the 19^th century, beginning of the 20^th, early commercial motor vehicles. It served the many small quarries and the coal mine that now lies across the road leading into the village. The mine, disused for a century, is now the site of a small and well-concealed industrial estate serving some local businesses. Driving by on the road you’d know of its presence only by the small sign that names it after the Waterloo Mine that once thrived there.

No poetry today. I hope the short piece above entertains and informs. Enjoy!

It’ll help others enjoy this bit of nature if readers here would spread the word with the ‘share’ buttons below. Let’s all do what we can for each other during this testing and trying time, please. Thank you.