I love Stroud Valleys

The railway journey from London to Stroud has a dramatic landscape change as the train emerges from Sapperton railway tunnel a few miles east of Stroud and proceeds through the Golden Valley. Suddenly it enters a deep valley with beech woods along the upper slopes, cotswold stone villages and old wool mills. The first time I did the journey many years ago, when we were living in London, I remember feeling we'd finally arrived in real countryside and the holiday could begin. For many years after we moved here and I still journeyed to London some days for work I can recall the feeling of release as the train emerged from the tunnel and the valley views opened up, back home again after a long day. Ah I'm going all romantic about this, must the the effect of valentines day.

Beautiful light first thing this morning streaming in from the east and picking out the folds of the valley sides and casting long shadows from the skeletal outlines of trees.