Water in the woods

Taken on a walk with a friend in Hardwick Wood, some days ago.

Woods have been important to me for as long as I can remember: a place of escape, contemplation, reconnection, imagination, and regeneration. 

I'm currently revisiting Tolkien's THE LORD OF THE RINGS, not read since I was a teenager. It stands up surprisingly well - beautifully written - and captures so well the sense of both magic and earthiness found in  landscape and woodlands.

The English landscape is always a kind of Middle Earth for me.