Saturday 1 November 2008

Call of the Wild...

On Friday we returned from the wilderness.. the most wonderful wilderness.. in fact no amount of superlatives or adjectives could ever do justice to this very special place.. so I will let the photos do most of the talking.. As we trundled along the private lane to our little house deep in the woods.. I had a good feeling about our final destination.. nestled in the heart of the wooded valley..The first night under the thatched roof of our cottage rental was just a wee bit fraught as I wrestled with a bad attack of arachnophobia on being met by possibly the largest spider I have ever met in close quarters... Lying in bed under a pitch black sky did little to allay my fears as I imagined an army of these furry friends marching towards me ... I did however manage to surrender to sleep after what can only be described as a marathon week...
In my usual style I awoke at the crack of dawn regardless of holiday hours..as a muted light filled the bedroom .. I began to focus on the view outside.. not the normal patchwork of rooftops that I am used to..All the rushing and fretting prior to our arrival had already begun to evaporate and eager to explore the local flora and fauna we donned our boots and set off to one of my favourite haunts..
A place that fills my heart and cleanses my mind...It is simply.. beautiful!
We awoke early each morning eager to see the subtle changes of scenery.. from frosty crisp mornings to rain sodden trees but not being deterred by a bit of rain we set forth early.. long before the world had truly woken to catch the best of the day and witness some of the magical wildlife that surrounded us...Our daily treks took us.. along babbling river.. Up dappled hillsides...
Eventually climbing above the tree canopy to gaze upon the most glorious views...
This was just one of my favourites.. Over an ancient wooded gorge to the lush green fields and moor beyond.These huge granite boulders littered the landscape ..upholstered in the finest emerald green velvet moss..I wouldn't have been surprised to see wood nymphs or fairies dancing around this enchanted forest..
Most mornings we didn't see another soul for the entire journey but the distant battle cry of rutting deer that echoed around the hills was proof that we were not alone.
The deer that live in this ancient woodland have learnt to share their habitat with man and dog but keep a low profile most of the day.. retreating into the dense tree lined hillside.. but occasionally appearing when you least expect them..giving me such a thrill. We knew that the best time to see the deer was as the light was fading in the early evening or first thing in the morning as they would wander down the hillside to forage for acorns ...I felt truly privileged to see these gentle creaturesI managed to catch this one on camera with shaking hands just as we said our farewells to our favourite corner of England and prepared to leave behind our little house in the woods..
I love this place it is always hard to leave.. but hopefully we will return again one day and maybe for good.. who knows!
It isn't until you stop and take stock of the world around you and slow down the pace that you realise there is so much more than the daily grind and it's good to step off the carousel now and again to appreciate life..
We came home with pink cheeks... rested souls and pockets full of memories and images of our brief acquaintance with nature..happy in the knowledge that our home in Bath had been filled with good friends and Mr Pickles had been well looked after.

Another highlight of our holiday was meeting Mr & Mrs Snippet who made the journey across the moor to share a few hours of laughter and chat over coffee and burnt hot cross buns... It was lovely to meet you Sal and I look forward to continuing our chat when we meet again at the fair..

Thank you so much for your good wishes..It was such a treat to arrive home to all your lovely comments especially as I had been deprived of Internet access for the week...
I have so much to catch up with.. laundry.. school preparations..oh.. and a fair to organise.. so it will be a while before I get around to replying to you all.. but I do appreciate every one of your comments.. so good to know you are always there!

29 comments:

April said...

gorgeous photos, glad you had a good time

April xx

Unknown said...

Fabulous photos and what a cute cottage! I recognise that landscape...got to be mid Devon (the HUGE spider gave it away!) Lucyxx

Josie-Mary said...

Lovely photo's. Where did you go? x

Simone said...

This is such a beautiful post. I feel slightly envious as my husband isn't into country walks and nature as I am and I so wish he was! The words in this post are as thought provoking as the pictures: 'over an ancient wooded gorge to the lush green fields and moor beyond'. I want to say this over and over again. Delightful!

Ragged Roses said...

What a wonderful, magical place. perfect break for Mr and Mrs C. It is such a beautiful post to read and I can quite imagine those walks you went on in the mornings. Hope you are still feeling refreshed and revived and not buried under a pile of washing
Mxxx

A time to dance said...

So glad you are back I missed your posts. The cottage looked wonderful where were you by the way? Glad the spiders didn't get you. Have a good week.
Helen

LiLi M. said...

Great to have you back here Michèle! Your pictures are simply stunning. It must have been great a week without the internet and the beauties of fall all surrounding you. I hope you manage to enjoy your break still. Sometimes the whole circus starts too soon when you are at home again. Don't let the laundry take over!

Sal said...

It was a pleasure to meet you both and we laughed all the way home!
;-)
Keep practising with the hot cross buns...Easter is a long way off and so, by then, Pete should have sussed out how to achieve that lovely golden brown colour!! LOL

Devon is a wonderful place and being Devon born and bred I am rather proud of my county!!
Glad you had a good break and seeing the deer must have been a real treat too. xxx

kristina said...

What beautiful photos! I'm so glad you had such a restful and refreshing break. It's amazing the difference a bit of time away from the day-to-day can make. K x

jane and the happy crow said...

Welcome back, glad you had a good time, what a lovely place you stayed in it reminds me of where we used to live in Shropshire, lovely hills and woods, arent the colours amazing this time of year? Glad that spider did not get you, I think we have his brother living in our bathroom! Love Jane xx

Unknown said...

Sounds and looks absolutely wonderful!
Rosie x

Elizabeth said...

Thank you for the trip to the country side of England. I can't wait to go this summer. :)Beautiful little rental you stayed in.

Anonymous said...

Looks like a wonderful place to be especially at this time of year

Anonymous said...

wonderful photo's, thank you for sharing, where abouts is this?

Lucy x

Redwoodhouse said...

what a wonderful place, looks close to perfect to me, I feel totally relaxed just reading about it so it must have been lovely to be there, a great time of year for a break.
Jan

Teena Vallerine said...

Oh that looks like heaven! t.x

P. said...

We almost can feel the cold, when we look to that frozen floor.We hardly have those here now.
That picture with the big stones remind me here, in Sintra, we have some of that.

Alfazema

Unknown said...

This is so beautiful it took my breath away!
♥Jen

Cape Cod Washashore said...

Sounds like you had a beautiful time! And what an enchanting place to stay!!! =)

Carol said...

Oh Michele, seeing all your very beautiful photographs just makes me want to weep...I wish I could get out in the lovely Autumn air.
Your little break looks so idylli and that little cottage looks like something from a childrens storybook.
Cx

Charmingdesigns said...

Beautiful photos!! Laurie

Sea Angels said...

Hi Michele it looks like you had the most wonderful holiday, just my sort lots of countryside and long walks, your photos show so much of the lovely countryside I almost feel like I have been there. Bet you feel quite renewed, glad you had a lovely time.
Hugs Lynn xx

Alexa Lett said...

beautiful photos!

Alexa Lett said...

beautiful photos!

This Vintage Life... said...

Welcome back Michele, What a lovely break you must have had. The countryside can be so beautiful this time of year and that place looks magical. I'd keep it a secret if I were you or everybody will want to go. You've surely come home raring to go (once you get through the laundry!) xx

Tina(Taken over by her daughter, Nicole) said...

Great photos!! nice blog!!

Phillippa said...

Our country is so lovely! we saw deer in the forest yesterday, the children were so delighted, hope you are rested and raring to go!

Louise said...

What a lovely break, I love all your photos, and I so love this part of the country too. Maybe I have my nan's blood, she was born in Plymouth. So funny you should mention the spider, the biggest spider I have ever seen, was as a child, on the staircase of a farm cottage we were staying in Launceston, the size of a saucer! I was of course terrified, and even my mum, who could pick up an average hairy specimen, even had to sweep this one up in a dustpan and brush! These little breaks are so important in our busy lives, we even feel rejuvinated after a bike ride through the countryside and forest, and just being amongst nature. x

Unknown said...

Hi Michele
what totally gorgeous place, thanks for sharing the scenes. i havent seen such beauty in nature for a while. Also a very moving post for rememberance day.
Just wanted to say CONGRATULATIONS on one of your vintage box pictures being in Country living this month.
love kathryn