My daughter Lizzy suggested a new wood to visit which she had found nearby to her place of work, but though she knew its location was to the left, off her route, but not precisely where the entrance and Car Park were, so whilst she parked close by to a narrow lane leading across a railway line, I got out and walked to investigate. We had found a minuscule parking area, fortunately with a couple of available slots. I recrossed the bridge to signal her to come over. We had arrived, since there was a handy sign describing what might be expected within its bounds.
Having parked up, I took the opportunity to take out the camera and lens I had chosen, which was the EOS R and the 70-200mm, which when mounted on the monopod gave me both a manageable weight and a reasonably stable base from which to operate, and the first two shots were of the map and information board, so that as we entered I had the means to navigate the area within easy reach.
From here, the exit from the parking area was a long straight path tunnelling its way inwards. After a shortish walk the two youngsters, my grandchildren, soon found a path on the right leading down to a small twisty pond, or possibly a brook, which to their delight had a makeshift bundle of branches that crossed the narrow stretch of water, but it looked none too stable, and anyway, the thought of jumping across was far more appealing and exciting! Josh was convinced this was well within his capabilities, and since it was Lizzy’s Car in which we were travelling, my chivalrous nature accepted that a slightly muddy-trousered child would no doubt be dry by the end of the afternoon, so did not offer any resistance, I was a tad more concerned for his younger sister, Tilly, but reckoned she was only going to feel encouraged should I offer any warning against her following suit!
Another attraction for this spot was the proximity to a pair of trees strong one enough to support a small hammock, which was another reason Lizzy was happy to spend some time here, as she just happened to have brought along a small surprise present in case the opportunity arose! It was as if the entire idea for the trip was to find a pair of trees in the woods which just happened to be this precise distance apart and room either side perpendicular to the line between them; seemingly it only suffered from one small but manageable flaw, a dead root stump that might prove painful if one fell on it! Out came the surprise, and a cursory glance at the instructions for its assembly.
Lizzy ascertained that either of us adults came within the advisory weight limit, so that meant not only could the children play but she could also just take the weight off her feet and observe two happy children from a distance, and in comfort.
Although this was our first visit, it was soon apparent, since it was on Lizzy’s doorstep, that this was a venue that would likely be visited frequently in the future. The only snag I saw might well be that the size of this Car Park might mean it could fill fairly swiftly, however, I did note there were others.
We spent a thoroughly relaxing time here, meeting on other family group who were like us on their first visit, I also chatted with another photographer who was way more knowledgable of the natural species hereabouts than myself, and he showed Tilly a well-camouflaged Shield bug, and after having had it pointed out we walked several yards away, and when she said she would go back and point it to Josh, the man said “She’ll never find it having walked so far away from it!” He had not counted upon Tilly; she went straight back and exclaimed to Josh this was it! The man was impressed!
At one stage we came to the end of a long avenue, and a wide open field; in the distant was what looked like a dead tree, which turned out to not be totally dead, and had three sizes of swing, which proved a magnet for both children, especially the two-seater. This was another spot we spent quite some time enjoying, before setting off in the direction of a gate on the other side, and which led to a different bridge across the railway, then a long trek along a moderately busy road to then cross over the railway bridge to our car park and the trip back to Quainton.
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