I first visited Grovely Woods in late November 2021, as the last of autumn was just about clinging on, but really fell under its spell over a series of visits in December and January, savouring the sinister bleakness of deep winter woodland. Mid to late winter is a personally very difficult time for me; appreciatingContinue reading “Bluebells in Grovely Wood, dammit.”
Tag Archives: wiltshire
Pheasants and phantoms in eastern Grovely.
I’d not been to the eastern end of Grovely Wood since my very first visit, back in November; I’d barely explored it when I did. On the map, as the wood falls steeply away southward from the Roman road to the Nadder valley, it appears as blocks of plantation, so I wasn’t expecting much. ButContinue reading “Pheasants and phantoms in eastern Grovely.”
Great Ridge Wood, Wilts: Grovely Wood’s divergent sibling.
Great Ridge Wood in Wiltshire, also known as Chicklade Wood, is a substantial area of mixed woodland on the same ridge as Grovely Wood, bordered by the Wylie Valley to the north and split by the busy A303; it was once a highway robbery hotspot. The same Roman road runs the length of each, andContinue reading “Great Ridge Wood, Wilts: Grovely Wood’s divergent sibling.”
Grovely Wood, Wiltshire.
How do you come across a place? Sometimes it emerges from out of the routine of life – a journey by car, a move for work, somewhere to walk the dog. Other times the encounter springs from relationships – being introduced to a patch of downland by family, a riverside picnic with friends. Then thereContinue reading “Grovely Wood, Wiltshire.”
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