Monday 31 December 2012

Walking with The Boy ...

Benjamin was ten when I took him up to explore a Forestry Commission wood near where I used to live until I was about his age.

The wood is named as Bown Piece and it's only in the last year or two that walkers have been able to explore this wood ... open access and all that.
Walking in one of the Forestry Commission Woods at Matlock Moor

It's hard to describe a walk like this because although there are some paths on the ground they're often not marked on a map ...

Walking in one of the Forestry Commission Woods at Matlock Moor   

Half the fun is just following your nose knowing that you can't get lost in a small wood like this ... can you ...

Find a branch that's the right height and smooth enough and you can sit and have a chat about life and both learn something ...

Walking in one of the Forestry Commission Woods at Matlock Moor  

We reached the corner of the Five Fields and I looked across to the spot where Benjamin's great grandfather died 50 years ago. Was it the right time to tell him something of that death. I decided not ...

Walking in one of the Forestry Commission Woods at Matlock Moor   

... not today.

I suppose these trees were growing up as I grew up nearby though some of them have probably been around longer than me ...

Walking in one of the Forestry Commission Woods at Matlock Moor  



Then we got lost ... a bit ...
 


Once we'd found our way again we were following a good path ...

Walking in one of the Forestry Commission Woods at Matlock Moor  

Time for a 'group' shot !

Walking in one of the Forestry Commission Woods at Matlock Moor  

Before we knew it we'd found the path which led us back to the car.

Walking in one of the Forestry Commission Woods at Matlock Moor  

What I couldn't understand was why the path was so distinctive in places and in other places it just didn't exist.

This walk was followed on the 29th January 2011

 
Length of walk ~ 0.96 miles *
 
  Total mileage walked so far in 2011 ~ 32.63 miles

 
Total mileage between the 1st September 2009 and the 29th January 2011 ~ 561.68 miles

 
  10 of 2011
 
* distance calculated on Ordnance Survey's Getamap

12 comments:

  1. I love woodland walking, this looked a good place for it. Looked like an old Rhodedendron stand you two were tangled up in, in the second video.

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    1. Yes there were quite a few rhodies [as we used to call them] in the wood. They're sometimes a bit difficult to get through.

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  2. I spent many happy hours in the woods where I grew up,there is something magical about them especially if it is quiet,and no one around.I think young Benjamin will grow up with the same love of it as you Charlie.Ann

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    1. He's a very polite and sociable young man ... and a delight to walk with. I wonder whether his love of computer games might just distract him though.

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  3. Oh Charlie, this made me chuckle. In the last day or two, it has dawned on me that you must have an excellent sense of direction, as well as an excellent ability to read maps. Speaking as one who has NO sense of direction (not even a bad one), this impresses me to no end. Then, in this blog, you admit to getting a wee bit lost! :-)

    I think you were right not to mention about your dad's passing ...

    Best wishes always ...

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    1. Thank you Pet ~ I have got lost many times and it has usually been fun trying to find out where I was. Happy New Year to you and your family.

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  4. That was delightful. Tell Benjamin that if he wants to live in the wild forests of Canada that he had better bring his best tracker-friend with him...Charlie the woodsman. Actually Charlie, you do know a lot. We are constantly trying to rescue folk who wander off in the woods and don't know what to look for to follow a faint trail or a rivulet down to a bigger rivulet that will eventually take you to a trail used for hundreds of years by indigenous folk. Benjamin is being taught well

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    1. I don't think I would manage in such a vast area especially as I am at present Karyn ...

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  5. Happy New Year Charlie.. It has been a somewhat great year.. Now Lets see what this new year will bring us....

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    1. Thank you Barbara. Happy New Year to you too ... yes, 2013 may be interesting.

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  6. Lovely! I hope that I can also take a grandson out one day.

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    1. I can recommend it Neil. I was thinking it would be nice to have a first pint with him ... but that's five years away.

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