Back in the Woods

On a lighter note, I did eventually make it out of the house today and back up to Leigh Woods, where I was only a few weeks ago. It took me a while to get going but I started with a shower, which did help. I still haven’t yet changed my bed sheets and I still want to trim my hair a bit but, I will do that soon. I couldn’t leave as soon as I wanted to because my mum’s friend had arrived to trim the hedge at the front of the house. There was room for me to escape but, as friendly as he is, I just couldn’t face having to interact with him or anyone else. So, I hid away and waited until he’d finished clearing up and drove off.

Last time I was at these woods, my camera’s battery died after two-hours of wandering. This time, I was prepared! Not only was it (almost) fully charged but, I’d also bought a spare! The 16GB SD card I bought at the same time seems to be lasting well – I’ve used it on three days now and yet, I still have around 1,600 photos left to take!

Clifton Suspension Bridge

One journey I was hoping to make last time was up to the Clifton Suspension Bridge and, as you’ll see from the photos, I made it this time.

That bridge was my first port of call. I parked in the same car park as last time (inside the woods) and made a trek through the trees to where I thought the bridge path would be. It took me a good forty-five minutes in all to get there; maybe a little longer if you account for the ten-minutes walking up road (sadly, there was no direct path and I had to leave the woods to get to the bridge).

Along the way, I passed the red cows I didn’t see before – I’m sure that, on the signs entering this area, it says that there are only two…

These are the only animals I’ve really been able to catch in these woods so far (aside from a pair of ugly birds – possibly pigeons). I managed to catch a grey squirrel on the move not long after I first entered the woods today but, my quiet feet were a little heavy on the wet gravel and mud but, it was the torn velcro on my camera’s bag that made him run away!

Walking along the suspension bridge was something that I cannot recall ever having done before. I’ve driven across it a few times (as a passenger) but I was glad to finally be able to do this, having lived ten-miles south for all of my life!

It was as windy and the bridge didn’t seem to ‘rock’ as I might have expected. I’ve never had a great fear of heights… I mean, I don’t enjoy them and I probably wouldn’t have done this if there hand-railing was missing… It just felt like a little achievement for the day; along with getting up out of bed and leaving the house on a day where I didn’t ‘have to’.

A view, south of Bristol from the Suspension Bridge.

It was worth it also for some of the views on offer. This is another problem I have when I’m out and up high… I can see a view with my own two eyes; something that I’d like to capture… But, it’s not something I can find with my camera; the shape is all wrong. I’ve only had this camera for one month but, I sometimes think about whether I should’ve bought something with a panoramic lens? I read in one Amazon review that you can do panoramic shots with this camera but, it’s not mentioned in the manual.

Looking back through these photos of the bridge, I’ve begun to wonder how on Earth they built the thing all those years ago… I mean, it’s not as if they could assemble it on the ground and simply lift it in to position… Could they?!?

Please click here to see the updated photo album.