Puzzlewood

My first walk in the countryside after a 6 month hiatus might seem like an odd choice, it being effectively a tourist attraction. My Dad had lived in the area when I was young, and I remember several times him driving us past this place and scoffing at the idea of paying to go to a wood. Whilst I do see his point, and much of the joy of the countryside is the sense of freedom (something which an entrance fee would rather detract from) I thought I would give Puzzlewood the benefit of the doubt, as it looked rather special in the photos, and I was on holiday with the girls so this sort of "instant gratification" walk was probably more appropriate than the long hikes I would usually do alone.

The site was used for mining iron ore, at least as far back as the Roman period, and possibly earlier. Possibly as a result (or possibly it always was that wat) the excavations left behind an unusual landscape of protruding rocks and chasms, known as Scowles. Over time the woods reclaimed the landscape, the rocks were covered in moss, and the result something quite magical.

Helping to justify the entrance fee is the fact that the paths through the wood are very well maintained, and in my opinion sensitively done. All of the hand rails - and even the bridges - are made from higgledy piggledy shaped logs: you could easily imagine a tourist attraction like this being spoiled by straight, boring fences all over the place. Sign posts are also kept relatively small and unobtrusive.

During our visit the forest floor was strewn with wild garlic, and I was tempted to pick some, but somehow it didn't quite seem appropriate here.

The more dramatic chasms and valleys come towards the end of the walk round the wood (on our visit a one way system was in place, but presumably even under normal circumstances this would have formed the latter part of a suggested route), so it's good that as an experience it doesn't just peter out - there's something of a grand finale.