Monday 1 September 2008

Deep in the Wild Wood; who's that creeping up on me? - # 08/206

Deep in the middle of the Richmond Park you might imagine that you have gone back in time and are finding your way through the ancient "Wild-Wood" that once covered the whole of the British Isles.

Birches, oaks, lichens fungi, grassland and bracken host a multitude of wild creatures.

The pathway seen here is actually an ancient highway, 900 years old, between two settlements, and not far is the site of the gallows where highway robbers were hanged. At that time there was an average of barely 14 people per square mile in the whole county. Today its the most densely populated part of the UK. But that seems like nothing but a bad dream when you are in the middle of the Park.

9 comments:

  1. That's great to have such things not far away from civilization.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Love both the story and the photo!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Bravo! 9 out of 10 people would've shot this in colour but it's so much more effective in monochrome. Almost like a portrait. Well done!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Beautiful. Both story and photograph. Perfect that the deer is standing on the path itself.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Amazing statistics. The hanging tree reminds me of the research I did for a painting I did back in the late 1950s called "The Hanging Tree." Some of the stories about hangings were fascinating, but not as interesting as this post.

    ReplyDelete
  6. That is both a great photo and a really interesting history, chuckeroon!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Look at the ears on that fella! I wonder if he sensed you by smell or hearing first? Shh ... let's just squat and observe ...

    ReplyDelete
  8. Perfectly "spotted" with all the lines leading to the right place.

    Julie - he heard the auto focus ring on Chuckeroons E3 I suspect

    ReplyDelete
  9. @Richard......Spot on, R. The LADY (it's a she with no antlers) did spin round when the autofocus made it's quiet buzz. This is a long telephoto (400mm) but she heard it. She gave me a fine photo.

    ReplyDelete