Rain Forest

The rain this year has surpassed itself to create a lush green forest of undergrowth in the valley with bracken dominating.  Now nobody walks  here but those whose curiosity outscores their common sense. It is hardly credible that such rampant wilfullness exists in a national park that's given over to controlling everything.

The commonest plants in this private world play at taking on an air of exotic otherness. Creeping thistle, standing five feet tall, disproves its public reputation.

The route usually followed is hidden somewhere under the fronds and can only be picked out by those who've walked it many times in winter months. But this is genuinely hazardous for creaky limbs as mossy stones and slimy tree roots come underfoot often unseen though the real menace of bracken shoot is not around at least as yet.  Even the stream, noisy though it is, can be hard to see, until it crashes over the rocks.

Not far away in suburban homes before screens vicarious adventurers explore in their own ways. At least they avoid the midges.