Sunday 25 February 2018

A Bare Bones Landscape

Just south of the small town of Royston the land suddenly rises up like a great grass-covered wave stretching east and west as far as the eye can see. As you come from the flat farmland of Cambridgeshire its height is accentuated by its sheer unexpectedness. Anyone who takes the trouble to ascend the 50 metres or so to the top of the rise finds themselves in some strangely un-English scenery.


The fields stretch away in a succession of gentle swells broken by occasional scanty hedges which do little to impede the wind. There are few trees and the plough has scored through the thin, chalky soil to give the terrain a cold and frosted appearance.


I got off the train at Ashwell and Morden station and crossed the busy A505 road and commenced the trudge up Gallows Hill where, standing on a Bronze-Age burial mound was a clump of suitably dark, skeletal trees.


The footpath network here is sparse and doesn't obligingly connect up unless the walker resorts to a little road walking. But the roads are straight and it's so quiet that approaching cars can easily be heard above the singing skylarks and the occasional mewing buzzard.


The views are so far-reaching that there's a real "top of the world" feeling here, even though the elevation is modest indeed.


And yet every so often land, light and atmosphere conspire to create subtle flowing scenes. Where does that look like? Mongolia? Patagonia? Certainly not Spring in Hertfordshire!


A little further along and yellow catkins against a blue sky remind me that I'm just a few miles from home.


By now the overnight frost had departed from the top inch or so of the muddy fieldpaths making them greasy and unpleasant walking. At intervals along the edge of the field there were large flints, moved aside from the line of harrow or seed drill. These flint nodules appear in layers within the chalk and are composed of a hard, black, glassy form of silica. The exact process of their formation puzzled geologists for decades and, if anyone's interested, a clear and concise explanation can be found here


Stone-Age man, of course, had taken an interest in flint from the dawn of history because it was found to be perfect for making cutting tools, as when it was split open it produced sharp-edged shards, which could be further perfected by a skilled "flint-knapper".


Our path then enters Fox Covert where woodland survives despite the thin covering of soil. The path soon erodes down to the bare bones of the root system.


And in the wood my eye was attracted to a sawn-through log. Chainsaw-marks, tree-rings, the cracks of age and a pioneering strand of ivy combine to make a pleasing picture, in much the same way that geology, history and the hand of man have interacted to form the scenery.


Take care.



23 comments:

  1. If the landscape is radically different from surrounding regions it would be ineterestifng to do a wildlife survey to see whether differences are reflected in those populations. Great series of pictures really bringing it home to us.

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    1. Unscientific observation would seem to support that idea, David. Hares are common here and will show themselves in a few weeks when they commence their chasing and boxing as a prelude to mating. Red Kites hunt here but are rarely seen in my home area. There are also may Fallow Deer on these wide open fields.

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  2. Wonderful scenery, so different from the flat country I live in.

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  3. I love these photos, John. That wavy landscape is truly beautiful. I'm so glad you took this walk.

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  4. Lovely. So few areas here in Florida you can see the horizon, either, so a rise is a favorite spot. (Not many of them in Flat Florida)

    Very much enjoyed

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  5. Such a glorious location, with much to admire!

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  6. Hi John - wonderful ... love your photos and thoughts as you let us see your world. The trees and cut wood ... time immemorial ... thanks for the flint link too - I've passed it on ... cheers Hilary

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  7. An enjoyable walk through a beautiful countryside. The scenery is a pleasure to the eye. I love that sawn-through log, very pretty indeed.

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  8. There are many pleasing pictures in this post, I really like the last one and the layers that could be a foreign land. Some lovely scenery :)

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  9. What an amazing series of images John, so different but the muted colours are gorgeous in their own way. Your last macro shot is incroyable, nice work!

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  10. Thank you John, - your posts are always such a pleasure to read and the pictures touch my heart, - especially here the ones of the rolling hills, and the skeletal trees. I am watching for the catkins to grow longer on the tree outside my window. A lovely sign of spring.

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  11. I love that last photo. Intriguing texture and markings. Some of the rolling hills remind me of rural areas in N. CA.

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  12. You have such an eye for texture in the landscape. These are wonderful photos.

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  13. Fabulous photos of the undulating scenery and the tree roots and sawn tree. Other than the frost and mud it looked like a nice walk.

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  14. The first photo captures a scene that could be a painting, and I also like the trees and tree roots photos.

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  15. Splendid photos John. Looks like a lovely walk.

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  16. Fantastic images and your narrative always makes your post come alive :)

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  17. Stunning photos as always here John. I really love the shot of the tree showing the root system poking through, it always reminds me of fantasy landscapes when I see that. Love the textures in the shot of the sawn through log too. Apologies it's been so long since I last commented too, things were hectic, so I'm glad to be back to catching up with people now! - Tasha

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  18. I particularly like that fifth photo, with the waves of ploughed furrows. People go all the way to Tuscany to find views a bit like that.

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