A Walk in the Woods

Last night, I wasn’t feeling at my best, as you’re probably aware from my previous post. This cold was still hanging around when I awoke this morning but, I forced myself in to doing a ten-minute meditation for self-esteem and, after that and listening to some music, I was feeling better about facing the ‘lonely’ day ahead. I was up by 8 o’clock eating my bacon sandwich and I was then online, planning the day’s adventure (I’d decided to give it a try, even though my nose was running and I wasn’t able to contain any of my sneezes).

This week, I ventured over to Leigh Woods, which is a twenty-minute drive from home and, only a mile away (maybe less) from the Ashton Court Estate that I visited last week. It always seems to be the way with these days out… I don’t expect much at all. Even before I leave, I’m telling myself that it won’t live up to the previous day out. Yet, Ashton Court impressed me last week and, even though my camera’s battery died after only two-hours today, I still feel very good for having gotten out of the house.

This was somewhere I’d not been before. At least, not as far as I can remember… I can recall visiting some woodland with a friend’s family as a child but, wherever that was, the drive felt much longer.

When I arrived and changed my footwear ready to set off, I realised that I’d forgotten two things – one was my sketchbook (which I haven’t yet used, in three outings); the other was a jumper. It felt a bit chilly when I arrived as the sun had shut itself away but, I soon warmed myself up. My anxiety felt a bit stronger than it had done lately but, I put this down to my own bad habits of falling out of the routine of listening to my meditation recordings.

It was after two-hours that my camera came up with the message ‘Battery Exhausted‘ while trying to focus on a subject… Well, what about me?! 😉 I spent the last hour walking around (getting a little bit lost and discovering the wrong car park) and it was frustrating not being able to photograph some of the interesting trees and views I discovered. I really wanted to head off and try to find the Clifton Suspension Bridge but, my mental compass isn’t what it could be (I’ll blame the cold…) and, well, it only encourages me to come back again some other time.

This week, I MUST go online and buy two things though – a spare battery for my camera and a bigger SD card! It’s funny though; I take these photos in the highest resolution possible (probably about 4000 megapixels) and then reduce them to only 1200 megapixles long, as it’s faster to upload. It’s nice to be able to ‘take’ such high quality shots but, I never use them.

As far as sights go, I’m not actually sure if I saw anything that was mentioned on any of the maps I’ve seen. I began by searching for the arboretum and can’t have been very far away from Paradise Bottom on my way. I passed signs for The Grotto several times but still can’t be sure that I found it (or, even, exactly what it is…). The whole place is much larger than I’d expected. It looks smaller than Ashton Court on a map but, having been there today and seen many of the paths, it felt much larger; as if there was still another 50% or more that I’ve yet to discover. I’m definitely going back some time! 🙂

My cold’s beginning to re-emerge since I’ve been back home and have found the time to sit down and write this but, I am certainly feeling much better than how I was last night.

Next week, I think I’ll be off to Cheddar Gorge. If I can get myself up and going tomorrow morning then, I may try and force myself up to the nearby Mendips, to make up for my lack of battery charge and photographs for today (plus, I feel as though I should try and make more of my Sundays now as well, without completely tiring myself out).

I hadn’t charged my battery since the day I bought the camera. It’s a strange one, where you have leave the battery inside the camera and then directly connect that to the power point… It may well be that there’s a separate ‘docking station’ that I could buy for the battery though.

Oh, and before I forget, please click here to see ALL of my photos from today. 🙂