Winter solstice sunrise

The pre-dawn sky offered the potential of a glorious Winter Solstice sunrise, though the clouds had other plans. At the appointed moment curtains of grey cloud drew closed. Still I marked the notional sunrise by taking a moment and reciting some words, then resolved to make our a walk a solstice mediation. About 10 minutes later as we made our way down from Holm Hill towards Rhinefield Sandy's the sun did make a bright though fleeting appearance before retiring behind the wall of cloud again. Still, it's always nice being out in the forest early doors.

Tracks in time

A broad loosely linear ribbon of innumerable ruts running from Whitefield Moor on the outskirts of Brockenhurst up onto Hincheslea Moor and Wilverely Plain before snaking off towards either Holm Hill and Ober Water in one direction and Long Slades Bottom in the other; in some sections they're much more noticeable than others, in some sections they're so ephemeral as to be near invisible. You might reasonably think they're natural features caused by erosion or so such, maybe they could be signs of forestry works, or it's quite possible you'd overlook them all together amongst the heather and gorse. In fact they're an interesting archaeological feature from World War Two. Throughout the war the forest was used by various branches of the military, and these are the 80 year old tracks left by Churchill tanks of the 33rd Army Tank Brigade/43rd Bat Royal Tank Regiment on exercise hereabouts in 1942. One of the more recent layers of history etched onto the forests' landscape, joining numerous archaeological features reaching back thousands of years. My photo doesn't do the tracks or their scale justice, if you're interested check them out on a satellite map or LIDAR.

Holmhill Bog

 

Our walk this morning was out on the exposed open heath of Wilverley Plain and Holm Hill and adjacent wet heath and bog valleys of Holmhill and Duck Hole bogs. Through Holmhill Bog there's a raised path at a point where a pond has developed; the pond is about half a mile from Ober Water into which the bog eventually empties; the water here is clean and clear, the colour of strong black tea.

A hard winter ahead?

I've seen a lot of heavily berry laden Holly (Ilex aquifolium) trees on our recent walks; folklore says that a glut of berries is a sign of a harsh winter to come, and that the Mother Goddess is ensuring ample foods are available for her winged charges. Time will tell. Separately, Holly's a traditional staple of Yule/Christmas decorations, commonly wreaths and table centrepieces, and those licensed to harvest the forest's Holly are out at the moment filling giant sacks with it.

Winter Solstice sunrise

Geoff and I set out in the dark this morning in order to reach a good vantage point to see the Winter Solstice sun rise. Our chosen spot was Holm Hill on the edge of Wilverley Plain with good clear views eastwards. Holm Hill's a nice vantage point on the edge of a promontory of higher heathland plain surrounded by on three sides by low bogland (Duck Hole, Crab Tree and Holm Hill), which I feel gives it an added something, our ancestors favoured wetland, and it's adjacent dry land. Sound carries in the early morning forest, I could hear walkers chatting on a track-way across Holm Hill Bog, and for a moment I was cowed from running through some Awen's, then I thought...what the hey.  As the sun rose I chanted, I beathed in the fresh clean morning air and it felt good. What a glorious sunrise, clear enough to see the sun itself rise above the horizon, though with enough cloud to make the sky interesting. And the light, man, the gorgeous orange hued morning light, it bathed the sparse stands and open heathland in gold. A cycle ends, a cycle begins, lets hope this one is better than the last, which, for me at least, was utterly shite. Solstice Blessings y'all.