I live in England, a country recognised for its picturesque landscapes. After posh accents and afternoon tea, the rolling green countryside is not far down the list of what people think of when they consider England. A stroll through a countryside village at the peak of spring can be a sight to behold.
According to the Mental Health Foundation, “nature is an important need for many and vital in keeping us emotionally, psychologically and physically healthy.” They also define nature to “mean green spaces like parks, woodland or forests and blue spaces like rivers, wetlands, beaches or canals.”
However, not everyone lives in a beautiful village in the middle of those sweeping blankets of green fields and dense woodlands. For many people, even accessing one of England’s 10 National Parks is an unrealistic option. So how then, do we spend time in nature if we do not have it on our doorstep?
The reality is, that for most of us, there is a little spot of wilderness and green space which will be within walking distance of our front doors. It might not be vast mountain ranges or splendid stately home country parks, but it will be enough for us to enjoy and relax in nature.
A couple of weeks ago I was on a walk with my partner. We were about 2 miles from our house and, after stopping off at a petrol station for a sandwich and coffee, were walking along a busy A-Road towards a rather congested village, about 20 minutes away from the city centre. It was noisy as cars raced past at 50mph, and we had to dodge the piles of discarded litter on the side of the road. Just before we hit the first housing estate, we slipped off the road onto a public footpath and into the trees, the noise of the road almost instantly subduing.
No more than 25 meters down that footpath we came across a little stream, forming a boundary between us and a farmer’s field on the other side. The rocky bank of the river made the perfect place to stop and sit down, finish our coffee and share a chocolate bar. The water gently flowed below our feet, drifting under a low-hanging tree and around the corner, out of sight. There was a distant rumble of cars from the road, but after a short while, we stopped noticing. Instead, we noticed the sounds of birds chirping from the trees and the wind rustling the leaves. Whichever way we looked, we could only see nature, plighted only by the fence the farmer had put up to keep his sheep contained. It felt peaceful and I could have sat there enjoying it for hours.
I’d taken my camera bag with me on the walk and had my drone. I liked this spot so much that I thought I would fly it up and get some footage. After a few minutes of messing around with different shots, flying it across the stream and under the trees, I turned it back on to ourselves and flew it up and backwards. As we shrunk to tiny little figures, the landscape changed from brown and green to grey. A large industrial estate and houses upon houses came into view. We were within touching distance of it all.
I was shocked. I knew the village was close, but I did not expect it to be that close. You certainly would not have guessed from where I stood. Yet, how many people in those houses knew this place exists? How many of them only see the grey of the industrial estate, and the blend of colourful cars racing down the road? In the 30 minutes we were there, not one person came past us.
If you find yourself surrounded by busy roads and grey buildings, then is there a little spot of nature out there for you to find? It’s certainly worth a little adventure to try and find out.
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