A slightly idealised view of a shady track through a local forest. In times gone by, this was a much larger forest comprising mainly broadleaved woodland. In the early part of last century (makes me feel old calling it that!), it was almost entirely cleared and planted with conifers for timber production. It has since become very fragmented due to housing development; the main body survives, much reduced, with a few outlying smaller pockets separated by housing estates and villages. It is traversed by a number of broad rides, which in turn are interlcaed with narrow tracks. Nowadays mixed deciduous trees and narrow banks of ground cover are more or less confined to amenity belts alongside these trails, though the forest does additionally include a few boggy areas of scientific importance. Behind this facade, all is boring conifers with no groundcover other than the odd bit of bramble and bracken among the dense brown carpet of fallen pine needles. Feel priviledged: you are viewing a remnant of its former self!
I guess most of the older ones here can relate to the encroachment of our forests and farmlands by the increased need for more and more housing. I hope you plan to do a few prints of this image so that it is preseved for the future generations to see what the land looked like in the past. Very well done!