Break in

Today chilled you to the bone, the ground is beginning to harden as ice penetrates deeply and any exposed water is sealed with a thickening layer of ice up to 15mm so far. Thankfully there is no wind or it may have become intolerable. The stands of Rhinefields Sandys Enclosure (1775) are almost silent in the still that blankets the forest, other than the occasional subdued tweet or distant rustle nothing moves and no sounds are made. About 10 years ago well over half of Rhinefields Sandys was fenced off with Deer fencing, its gates locked and access denied. We used to walk there frequently; today fallen tree offered the opportunity to walk there again. The enclosed area, other than maintenance of the trackways, has been left to develop unhindered by grazing Cattle, Ponies and Deer; a crowded understory of self seeded saplings and shrub species has developed and the ground is densely covered. Covertly and alert, we moved slowly through the restricted woodland, taking in the forbidden sights, before slipping back into the accessible part of Rhinefields Sandys and out into heathland beyond.

Beyond the enclosure Ober Water threads its way through the valley, it too has succumbed to the freeze in places; the banks fringed by an icy pelmet. It must be cold for even flowing water to freeze. A line of Ponies process gracefully through the browning heather and tussocks towards the banks of the stream and the lush green grass grazing which awaits them.