A local walk

Well… perhaps not quite that local, but only a ten-minute drive from home. These were taken in the middle of November when we were allowed to drive somewhere for exercise or recreation. I’m not sure about the new rules, but it’s possible I may still have to wait a full month before I can do this again.

Last year was probably the first time I had the chance to get out and photograph autumn. Looking at some of my older blog posts, I had either been too ill to go out, or the weather hadn’t been ideal. The trees started to look good and then one windy night ruined everything. Last year I almost ran myself into the ground, driving all over the place. It was worth it though.

This was a walk we used to do many years ago, but I hadn’t appreciated the changes since our main “A” road had been widened. Even though it really was only ten minutes away, it took me a full hour to find where we used to park. The sun was getting quite low in the sky by this time, but I decided to take the chance and have a wander anyway. I’m still not entirely sure I followed the same route, or I would have remembered the wonderful old tree featured in the image above. I took some shots on the way in, but I didn’t like the strong contrast with the light through the woods. This one was taken on the way back to my car, just after the sun had set.

The one below was taken further along the path. It looked as though a large vehicle had been driven through while cutting back dead trees and low branches. The path was already incredibly muddy, but progress had been made almost impossible by the tangle of rubbish. Turning around to find my way back, I spotted these leaves lit by the very last rays of sunlight.