"I'm lost in a forest, all alone..."

Decided to spend a sunny Sunday doing a lonely walk from one of those "short walk" books - a circular route that takes in the Falls of Leny, near Callander. I've always loved woodlands, found them to be the place that I feel most at peace. Setting off I found myself walking alongside a lovely natural oak woodland, with beautiful, spaced oaks, birches and alders festooned with mosses and lichens. After wondering off-path to get a better look at the river and the Falls of Leny, I followed small desire lines and deer tracks to wander through the woods.

There was no-one else there, despite the cycle path at the top of the hill and the road on the other side of the river. I felt more at peace than I have for a long time. No-one talking to me, or feeling that I have to talk to someone. Perhaps we all need to head into the woods, lose ourselves in them, feel at peace.

Maybe its today with our descent from arboreal primates? Maybe its the comfort of being relatively hidden from those outside of the woodland? Who knows. All I know is that I wandered around, completely immersed in the woods, and saw no-one else who had ventured off-path. I came across a stout, squat oak with an almost open-grown quality to it. I climbed up to the top, slipping a bit on the luxuriant moss, and then just hung around in the canopy for a while, enjoying the different perspective on the world. I felt completely hidden from view up there, away from the world and its pressures.

A natural archway, formed by a young ash. No idea what caused it.

I know it won't work for everyone - other people have their own special places, whether up mountains, on beaches, or in great cathedrals. But for me, that oakwood helped me escape from everything going on for a couple of blissful, lonely hours.