Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
INTRODUCTION
Views were lost in a grey mist of rain that had not let up since break-
fast, but needing a hot drink I sank onto a cushion of heather, settled
back against a silver birch and dug my flask out of the rucksack. The
tea was welcome; the rain and lack of views had not affected my
spirits and I was aware of being immensely happy. It was a priv-
ilege to be there, to be walking this land of timeless beauty, absorb-
ing its past and present, gleaning experience for tomorrow's patch-
work of memory. And as I wiped the steam from my glasses I noticed,
among the swamps of nodding cowslips that crowded the hillside, early
purple orchids standing sentry-like here and there, their helmets toss-
ing minute cascades of spray as raindrops fell upon them . . .
The soft light of a June evening pushed shadows out of a stand of
beech trees. From a pathside bank I watched the patch of darkness
spread down the knoll as silvered galleon clouds drifted overhead and
a blackbird piped his own last post from a hawthorn bush nearby. At
the foot of the slope a roe deer slipped out of the woodland shaw and
sprang across the long grass, as though leaping waves. Reluctant to
break the spell I delayed my onward walk and sat, content to absorb
the moment . . .
Ramsons, or wild garlic
(Allium ursinum),
spreads through the woodlands in great car-
pets, its beautiful white stars giving contrast to its pungent smell
