Evening on the Heath

Just a few shots from a late afternoon walk around some local heathland a couple of days ago. It was a predominantly cloudy and chill day but with just a few brief breaks of brightness to liven up the scene.

This heath is a little oasis in the middle of urbanity and were it not for the distant hum of traffic, you could think you were in the deep countryside. I always enjoy these walks which are invariably taken on days when other commitments prevent me from having a full walk. Usually I will have been doing other things and so can really feel the freedom of finally being outside. I guess that’s something you miss when you retire, that feeling of freedom when, having been locked away in the office all week, the weekend comes round at last.

The heath is mainly heather, speckled with odd trees here and there as well as some marshy areas. However around the perimeter, there are various clumps of woodland, mostly coniferous intermingled with holly but there are also some mixed woodlands. The leaf above, with that awesome lichen covered tree behind, caught my eye as a late afternoon splash of sun picked it out like a spotlight.

This is an area of woodland with two major tracks crossing it, one being a Roman road and the other being a disused railway line. Naturally, there is the odd bridge, again covered in that lovely green lichen, this time intermingled with a bit of graffiti. Now graffiti can be seen as ‘vandalism’ or art, depending on your stance but either way, I thought the bright colours looked great against that rustic green canvas so I grabbed a picture.

To be fair, there wasn’t much of a sunset that night but nevertheless, the sky did light up a little allowing me to silhouette a couple of fairly bare trees. To me, that picture just about epitomises Dorset heathland in winter, creating a kind of barren loneliness, an  atmosphere of isolation and peace. And that is very much what I felt on this night as I made my way home.

Thanks for stopping by.

Until next time,
Your friend
The Dorset Rambler

If you would like to contact me, my email address is terry.yarrow@gmail.com – comments and feedback are always welcomed.

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