13th: Lancaut – Gloucestershire

There is almost too much to talk about here. The habitat we were walking through was very different to anywhere else we’ve been so far. It felt almost like a tropical rainforest, with large numbers of bryophytes and ferns littering the ground.

Small alcoves of fallen trees covered in moss and bathed in dappled sunlight added to the feeling, along with occasional views down to the slowly meandering River Wye and the huge cliffs frequented by peregrine falcon.

I think we heard them but didn’t see them. As we wound our way down the steep bank almost to the rivers edge, we came across the old, abandoned church of the also abandoned village of Lancaut that gives the reserve its name.

Once again, I’ve been struck with how many of these reserves are interwoven with the history of our country. I usually prefer to stick to the natural world in my artworks, but I’m beginning to think that I may have to try and incorporate some of that history into some of these works. It just feels like the right thing to do, if I’m going to properly capture what these places are about.

Things didn’t stop there though, we saw, what we thing was a fledgling thrush, heard and saw wrens, goldcrests and possibly black caps.

This is also a place humanity comes to for it’s leisure time. When we arrived the car park area was full to bursting, yet we saw virtually no-one on the walk. The answer was obvious once we’d walked a while as it became clear that the cliffs were a very popular area for rock climbing.