If you go down to the woods today….

Saturday
The forecast for the day was pretty dismal, but Roger and I decided to go out anyway. Janet had a few things to do for church tomorrow, and didn’t fancy getting wet!
Many years ago, we had visited the Sculpture trail in the Forest of Dean with Janet and Stuart, so today we decided to revisit it - I thought the trees would give us some shelter from the rain, and the sculpture would give us something to look at and photograph, since you weren’t going to see much in the way of views today! On the way, Janet suggested we might want to stop and look at Upleadon church near Newent. (See extra). The current church is 11th century in origin but has been heavily modified over the centuries. The Tudor era tower is a rare design, as it is timbered from the base to its height and inlaid with red brick. The half-timbered main structure was added in the early 16th century and has a ‘wishbone’ type cross bracing. The nave and carved North doorway are both 12th century Norman.
Established in 1986, the 4.5 mile long Sculpture Trail in the Forest of Dean was one of the first in the UK. The Trail features sculptures created by artists to interpret the Forest environment and the history of this very unusual landscape. Highlights on the trail include Cathedral, a 15ft high stained glass window suspended from the tree canopy and Iron Road, twenty sleepers on a former railway line carved with images of the Forest. To celebrate the trail's 35th anniversary this year, nine new sculptures have been installed, eight of which are on a temporary trail beginning at Beechenhurst available for four months. These include ‘Animal Shelter’ by Michelle Cain, which takes the form of a badger and Plastic Pavilion by Seyi Adelekun, comprising plastic bottles, containing different coloured liquid and Escapade by Edith Meusnier, lower centre. We completed the whole trail, despite the persistent rain - fortunately not too heavy! When we were done, we treated ourselves to a hot drink and a bite to eat in their cafe. We spent the rest of the day in the dry, back at Janet’s!
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