I thought it was time to step out of the fog and into the light for today’s image. This was taken a couple of weekends back on our Sunday afternoon perambulation. This walk was probably one of the most surprising and enjoyable we have done in recent weeks. It wasn’t long – failing to get out of bed much before 11 o’clock meant we were short of daylight – and even then we had to finish the last few km in the dark. It was, though, a delight. This is Sawyer’s Wood, a small patch of forest up on the hills inland from the Solent coast. A few miles to the west is Southwick and a stone’s throw to the east is Purbrook Heath and the inland sprawl of the Portsmouth conurbation. With warm late-Autumn sun topping up our vitamin D, a gentle breeze stirring the fallen beech leaves under foot and robins serenading us as we walked, it was easy to set adrift the stresses and strains of another chaotic week in this disaster of a year. As we walked on, out of these woods and into the open rolling downland, it was easy, too, to forget that urban sprawl lay just over the next ridge. Cities, industry and pollution-drenched motorways were forgotten in the fresh air and peaceful tranquility of the Hampshire countryside.
Sawyer’s Wood, Southwick, Hampshire
Canon EOS R5
Canon RF24-105 L IS
