Forest of Dean

As I mentioned earlier, yesterday we went to the Forest of Dean, one of the many beautifully green English recreation areas where you can go for walks and hikes. Apparently, these woods provided inspiration to JRR Tolkien for Lord of the Rings.

We did a 4.5 mile walk called the Sculpture Trail, and it really was extraordinary. Placed throughout the wooded trail at varying intervals were all of these different sculptures created by different artists.

They were amazing in the way that they both blended in and stood out from their surroundings. There was a mound with tree stumps artistically arranged, a giant wreath of iron leaves in the top of a tree, a swing, a set of railroad tracks carved from wood, and this giant stained glass window suspended in mid air. It was just incredible to walk from the woods into a clearing to see this.

Whoever thought up this installation and walk was one smart cookie!