Reasons to be grateful

It's been a tough few days. Last Saturday I was struck by an emotional steamroller when someone I loved and respected insulted me and S, my spouse. I apportion no blame, telling myself that they may not have realized the devastating effect of their words. I'll simply say that I've now grown a little older, a little wiser and probably a little less trusting of others.  

A friend of mine, whose very real problems dwarf mine to the point of insignificance, has set herself the challenge of finding something every day for which to be grateful.  The result (so far) has been two of the most positive posts that it's been my privilege to read. The subjects have been wonderfully varied, from a sunrise to an Eccles Cake, and from friends to pussy cats. So, rather than dwell on the recent past, I wish to record that I'm feeling very grateful indeed for the area in which I live. 

It was a misty, cold day on which S and I took the slippy, slidey, muddy path from a car park in Wyndcliff Wood to the Eagle's Nest, high above the River Wye. Despite lingering mist, the view is truly spectacular, with the meandering River Wye in the foreground, Chepstow beyond the far band of trees and the two Severn Bridges in the background.  (To see all but the first, you'll probably have to click the photo to enlarge it.) We have vowed to return in the Spring, walk on through Tintern and probably feast at the Brockweir Inn. Lovely!

Every season is special, here in the Forest of Dean. Winter brings its own charms as new vistas appear between the bare trees, yet the ground is still carpeted with the golden leaves of Autumn. Add some winter sunshine and the scene is rarely less than magnificent.

There's a forest path that I've often passed on an old railway track near Upper Lydbrook. Here it is, branching away to the left from the main path. One of my history books tell me that it marks the course of the Severn & Wye Tramroad, which pre-dated the railway by some 60 years. 

Local history fascinates me. My old homeland of Cornwall is steeped in history, from ancient barrows and stone circles to 19th Century tin mines and railway tracks.  The Forest of Dean is no less enthralling and I'm grateful for every minute of every hour spent trampling down bracken and circumnavigating deep mud to locate some relic of the Industrial Revolution.

On earlier walks I've traced this tramway past Lydbrook, almost to its terminus at Bishopswood, on the road to Ross-on-Wye. This time I decided to explore a little way in the opposite direction and was quickly rewarded with this lovely woodland scene - but only briefly. Just out of sight in this picture is a rough track that that I followed, descending steeply to Upper Lydbrook.

This is another place to which I will return, to discover where the tramway path takes me.

Finally, to prove that I don't have to stray from my home for reasons to be grateful, here's the morning view from my kitchen window, one week ago. Brewing coffee and preparing my bowl of muesli could hardly be more rewarding.