The Bourne Woods walk: a new photographic perspective

Commentary and photographs (!) by Tony Attwood,

Our Bourne Wood walk on 22 September commenced with a modest-sized but nonetheless dedicated band of Ramblers meeting in Beech Avenue ready to face the tranquil surroundings of the aforementioned Bourne Wood.

Our first picture is thus of the starting point; one or two of the houses surrounding this delightful enclave can just about be seen between the trees.  None of the residents appeared, (perchance wondering what was going on with such a gathering appearing in their tranquil retreat).

This is described by those who know such things as an area of ancient woodland, winding paths, pond-side picnics and interesting wildlife and I think it is fair to say that our arrival increased the level of interesting wildlife considerably.

The advertising from Forest England concludes that “if you’re looking for peace and quiet, you can’t go wrong with a day trip to Bourne Wood,” which tells me that Forest England could do with a new copywriter.  I am available for freelance work at rates that many would consider exorbitant.

Sadly those members of Peterborough Ramblers who normally attend walks each armed with a multiplicity of cameras, lenses, tripods, quadrapods and associated whatnots were not with us on this occasion, so quick as a flash, I whipped out my mobile phone and snapped away (as us professional illustrators would have it), and the results are to be seen herein.

Not, I will admit, the normal standard to which we have become accustomed, but the best I could do.

This opening “shot” (as it is known) suggests storms ahead and although there was a slight debate as to whether precipitation would be part of the occasion the general consensus was that us hardy warriors of the footpaths would, if challenged, shake a fist at the sky, and that would put pay to any thought it might have of opening one of the cloud-like objects above.

There were of course bridges, for one cannot have a walk without bridges, and someone (and for certain it was not me because I’m the last person ever to draw attention to myself, especially when trying to work out which way to hold the phone in order to take a “snap” as us photographers call it) suggested that members of the ensemble should look my way.

Of course one of the things one has to do as a dedicated “snapper” as us professionals like to be known, is do some running ahead in order to be a picture of the walk “comme cela s’est passé” as us photographers like to say,

Now you will be pleased to know I am not extending this commentary beyond the bounds of possibility, so that means there is only a modest amount more describing what was going on.

And I should add at this point that you can avoid all future literary rambles (ie me pontificating on what happened) if the walk leader would care to provide her/his own detailed description of where we went and what it was like.  But I have asked before and it has not been forthcoming.

Anyway, in the picture to the picture (or “snap”) below, you can see (if you peer very closely) a big house near the top slightly to the right of centre.   This is Grimsthorpe Castle, home of the 28th Baroness Willoughby de Eresby

And so now we come to the end of the walk except for this artistic endeavour found deep within the forest.  I don’t know what it symbolises and why it is there but I thought it was rather good.  If you know why it is in the woods of Bourne, please do say.

But then it was over, and as we drove away local villagers could be seen twitching their curtains, and putting out smoke signals to advise each other that the annual invasion of the Ramblers was over for another year and that both cultural and physical damage to the local environment had been kept to a minimum.