Justified Ancients

We enjoyed another couple of hours out walking today, over at Bradgate Park. The car parks were all rammed, but I've been here more than enough times to know that you can quickly and easily veer away from the main drag and enjoy huge swathes of open vista with few others around. I'm sure if anyone could watch the park from high up above and create a heat map, the main pathway through the center, the car parks and the toilet/tea buildings would be burning orange, whilst the rest would barely register. There was no agenda other than fresh air and enjoying the massive ancient oaks. When we did head nearer to the ruins and the main path, it was still easy enough to maintain distance.

Some of these huge oaks are barely holding themselves together. Huge hollow centers, barkless and split trunks, and yet they continue to flourish and survive, their ancient status fully justified.

We briefly nipped over to nearby Swithland Reservoir before heading home, mainly so I could enjoy the sound of a Wigeon flock and see a few ducks for a change.