That made me smile. Love “the procession of human history that has passed by this ancient tree”. It made me realise the vastness of the history of our world.
If you can make one person stop in their virtual tracks and think about something, that’s above average for me
Lovely piece. It reminded me of what my old history teacher used to say: in Britain, an island, we have a romantic notion of the forest as a magical place, hence the references you mentioned. On the continent however, forests are darker and scarier, hence Hansel and Gretel or that painting of the lost soldier by Friedrich. His explanation was simple: on the continent, forests hid wild animals and enemies, neither of which was as relevant in Britain.
Thanks Nico. When I think about it that’s true. I never think of forests as eerie but that is down to the geography and history of the U.K. A photographer friend of mine did a great project on the forest in Germany close to where Hitler hatched his plans. I guess that place is forever tainted.
I thought so too. Sherwood is marketed to the hilt. Mostly I avoid these types of places but was interesting to see what I could write about from my first visit.
That made me smile. Love “the procession of human history that has passed by this ancient tree”. It made me realise the vastness of the history of our world.
If you can make one person stop in their virtual tracks and think about something, that’s above average for me
Thanks Cecile, it’s interesting to see what resonates. Sherwood is a popular place so a fun exercise!
Lovely piece. It reminded me of what my old history teacher used to say: in Britain, an island, we have a romantic notion of the forest as a magical place, hence the references you mentioned. On the continent however, forests are darker and scarier, hence Hansel and Gretel or that painting of the lost soldier by Friedrich. His explanation was simple: on the continent, forests hid wild animals and enemies, neither of which was as relevant in Britain.
Thanks Nico. When I think about it that’s true. I never think of forests as eerie but that is down to the geography and history of the U.K. A photographer friend of mine did a great project on the forest in Germany close to where Hitler hatched his plans. I guess that place is forever tainted.
There is such a beautiful sacredness to the forest.
Absolutely. One can only imagine the wonder of Sherwood when it was a larger forest many moons ago.
A forest entered through a gift shop! How sad is that
I thought so too. Sherwood is marketed to the hilt. Mostly I avoid these types of places but was interesting to see what I could write about from my first visit.