Lyde Garden, Bledlow

The river Lyde is a tributary of the Thames and rises in this ravine next to the church in Bledlow, being fed by 15 natural springs. Lord Carrington, whose house is opposite, created the Lyde Garden as a gift to the people of the village. Walkways line the sides of the ravine, ferns and mosses grow on the steep banks. The Garden has an Oriental air of peace and calm, and is something of an undiscovered treasure.

The news headlines this morning are full of anger, fear and horror: 'grandmother beheaded in back garden'; 'immigrants storm French Channel port'; 'prime minister plans air strikes against ISIS forces'. So this is a good place to spend some time in quiet reflection; not to escape or hide from the world, but to keep a sense of balance and remind myself of all that is beautiful and gives me hope. And, in the words of Wendell Berry, to 'come into the peace of wild things/who do not tax their lives with forethought/of grief.'