Big skies, Bluebells and a sense of discovery, how I found a little paradise exploring something new.

“An avenue of pink in front of me. The blossom created a certain magical start point for what turned out to be a truly mesmeric and exciting walk through the fields of DH Lawrence country.”

Blossom avenue.

The churchyard at Greasley Church is one that lends itself to the lens and is a place of sanctuary and calmness - a place to gather thoughts or contemplate but after a week of rather strange weather that included rain, thunderstorms and hail, for me it was the starting point of a truly glorious walk. The pink cherry blossom was out and an avenue was in front of me, leading the way along to a path that I had never previously been on, after leaving the avenue of cherry blossom behind me the church eventually came into view, blue skies above it and clouds that looked not too dissimilar to cotton wool were floating around the skies, I just had to take a brief pause and I took the following image.

Peace under the big skies.

You really do not have to be religious to appreciate beautiful architecture and the church at Greasley is one that offers peace and sanctuary away from the clutches of modern life, exploring the churchyard here you are bound to find a place to sit and relax, look over the fields and lose yourself in the immersions of thoughts as you ponder on life in general. Either way I just had to continue on this walk, ahead of me a gate that once it is opened takes you into fields, ones with paths which just as to be explored, I walked through the field away from the church when suddenly I paused for a minute and looked behind me, the church in the distance and those big skies, drama and peace at the same time is what I sensed and the world felt calm, away from the scientists imposing doom on society at the moment.

Fields of the church - (Colour).

Fields of the church - (Black and White).

After the momentary pause, continuation started along a path that I had walked down many years ago, now I was revisiting that place, and whilst I could remember some parts of it, things felt new and in front of me whilst walking through another field, trees - for they were like perfect sculptures with a big sky above them and a sense of drama.

“Trees, what are they other than living objects that provide us with so much, yet we ignore them so often. For they are nature's sculptures of all shapes and sizes along with colour. Just observing them we can learn so much.”

A sky drama - (Black and White).

A sky drama - (Colour).

Cloudscape symphony.

A sky dance.

Eventually I reached the aptly named “Gilt Brook” a boggy stretch of water and landscape, a wooden path erected over the brook and the boggy grounds below led me into another field and a short walk over the mud eventually led me through a natural break between the field I had walked through to cross another field, this one though had a small hidden and secret valley, the other side was a gateway into the woods and this is where things started to change, a dramatic change that would eventually lead to more discoveries.

Now I had arrived at “Watnall Wood(s)” a small but perfectly formed woodland with footpaths waiting to be explored and a certain amount of complexity that is enough to challenge any landscape photographer, I say complexity because unlike other woodlands which are more managed, these woods are something best described as “au-natural” and that is something that is equally magical, a more au-natural woodland holds more secrets too it and is a sanctuary for life, a home for life and one that shelters the life that calls this place home throughout the various seasons, of course though with it being may, the bloom of the Bluebells is what caught my attention and eyes, even though this time around I was not looking for bluebells I had managed to find some,

The blue sea of the woods.

Bluebell islands.

What with the woods being complex and challenging I still managed to capture these stunning flowers that provide a welcoming carpet of colour across the floor. Magic it was, but the path in front was calling me - evocative and thought provoking shapes of the trees is what I could see and I had to capture these.

A home for nature.

A path to middle earth.

Before long in this “living art gallery” I came across a clearing within the woods, here an oasis of calm and bird tables, bird feeders and a lovely invitation to stop for a while and feed the birds, sit and watch the wildlife appear in front of you as you take a moment or two observing the secrets that these woodlands offer.

The hidden oasis - (Colour).

The hidden oasis - (Black and White).

Out of the woods.

Just sheer magic and this hidden oasis and the bench made for the perfect place in which to ponder on things, gather thoughts and just simply relax to the sounds of the birds creating music, soothing and relaxing, for this is a true sanctuary hidden away for all to enjoy - but that is only if you know where it is. Still, though the fact that it is hidden away makes it even more unique. And just sitting here watching the birds sing, reminded me of the following song.

After pondering on life and the world as it stands, I had to continue on my walk, ahead of me the path started to go uphill, the complexity of trees and the shapes of them was something to behold.

Tree song - (Colour).

Tree song - (Black and White).

Eventually I reached the edge of the woods, ahead of me fields, large green ones with trees that provided a little something under a big sky, a big open and blue sky, for this was sheer magic and it felt slightly surreal, like being on another planet in a dreamscape, the warmth of the sun and those big skies was something that left me with a magical feeling.

Under a big blue sky.

Simplicity of the skies.

Fallen - (Colour).

Fallen - (Black and White).

A sky that changes.

Eventually a path through to another field, this time it leads downwards towards a more suburban area and the area in question is called Watnall. Somehow I just loved the following scene that was in front of me, of a glorious field basking under the giant and vast big skies, a house sits at the end of this field and it is here where suburbia and the countryside coexist together, yet I wonder if the people who live in that house have explored the fields behind them? Possibly they have, possibly they have not.

Between nature and a modern life.

Now it was time to head through this semi suburbia, past a pub with history called the queen’s head and a little further past the queen’s head is when I noticed the following, 

The cottage of many secrets.

“Stone Cottage” It was something out of the ordinary and whilst a lot of houses around Watnall are modern, some architectural gems still exist and this is one of them. I had never noticed this small secluded cottage before, and it came as something of a new discovery, and it just felt quintessentially,

“Chocolate box like, a cottage that hides from the rushes of the modern world which any person would not know exists….. Exists here. I just wonder what stories it could tell about the years in which it has been standing.”

Whoever lives in Stone Cottage - Watnall, it is one of the most beautiful sights that I saw on this walk. A short walk past the cottage and crossing the road, I was now walking down “Church Road” towards Greasley, for this road is the old road that also holds many silent stories, but the greenery of this road was something magical, a hidden dell with life between the new road, and this old road - oh how it provides a sanctuary for life and flowers.

A green dell - (Portrait).

A green dell - (Landscape).

Who lives in these secluded houses I wondered? Hidden away from view yet surrounded by nature. At the end of Church Road, I turned right and walked by the side of a road which I love, sweeping down the hill from Greasley Church, it is one that passes by in the blink of an eye some truly glorious scenery, for behind me a perfect light and I just had to take the following photograph,

A perfect road.

It was the light that did it for me, against this stunning road and the countryside that surrounds it - now though it was onto the last section of this magical walk of big skies, Bluebells and discoveries. In front of me Greasley Church and I stopped for a moment, the church just hiding in the fantastic light as it began to slowly set, magical is the spring light as it sets and the skies felt alive, one minute big open skies, the next the skies slowly started turning into something that you would get on an artists palette, shades like paint just waiting to be applied to a canvas; it really was something to behold.

Hidden under spring skies

Under spring skies.

For this was a walk that I had come to love, it’s secrets and the footsteps of DH Lawrence, that can still be heard even today within the silence of the hidden oasis and along the old church road, was something that remained magical afterwards, for this was truly a walk of discovery and one that I shall be doing again sometime in the future.