There's a spot along the path I sometimes walk that is like no other.
A few yards away is a rustic bench seat, and a wide break in the hedge,offering a delightful view across the river to a lush, flat meadow, fringed with tree-covered hills.
Any passer-by who might happen along this way would more than likely sit here to rest.
But my spot,as I said, is a few yards away from here,
where the roar of the restless river is muffled by the tree line.
The bank on the other side of the track is high and rocky,
festooned with moss and ferns
And the whole scene is overshadowed by the huge bulk of ancient beech and oak trees,
precariously clinging to the precipice.

Now,in spring,
Improbably vivid acidic green shoots force skywards through the musty skeletons of last years leaves
And porcelain white fungi gleam translucent on parchment-dry bark.

In summer
It is a cool oasis of dappled shade,
Where spiralling clusters of lace-winged insects
Swirl in the hazy shafts
of filtered sunshine.

Autumn unfolds
with a trickle of bright, crisp orange and ochre leaves
cascading from the overhanging branches
Casting a golden pallor over the whole stage
Crunching satisfyingly under foot.

When winter descends
A cathedral of towering silhouettes,
tormented by the wind,
scratch and claw against angry, slate grey skies

Badgers live here
tunnelling deep into the earthy bank.
There are at least five visible entrances
Some between tree roots
Some amongst the tangled brambles
All announced by a shining plateau of dark umber earth
Polished smooth by generations of nocturnal comings and goings.

But there's more

For here
in this dell
just around the corner from plain sight

there are faeries