A walk on the wet side

Our steep valley woodlands are part of the Atlantic rainforest that runs, in fragments, all the way up the western seaboard from Cornwall to Scotland. Even in summer these slopes are damp and green but on a wet winter's day water runs in rivulets everywhere, droplets sparkle as they hang from each twig and tendril and the air is damp with vapour. Moss coats every branch, trunk and log, living or dead. Stumps become green cushions. Lichen, liverworts and ferns shimmer with moisture; the ground is slithery with ooze. The woodland is a gravid green sponge, silent save for drips and trickles.

Temporary extras to illustrate.