Transcript from Video
The Skirrid Edition is inspired by my time spent visiting the Skirrid mountain during the challenging times of the winter and spring of 2021.
In my need to stay connected to the Landscape and nature I walked daily to the Skirrid from my home. The journey by foot to the hill from home is along busy country lanes and a series of connecting footpaths through agricultural land.
The climb up to the mountain wall is through a beautiful deciduous woodland and the higher you climb the more immersive the birdsong becomes, drowning out the distant sounds of Abergavenny. Rewilding yourself with every footstep you take until you reach the Mountain wall. Here you will find the gate, a gate through a wall, a gateway to nature and wilderness.
I love the sound the latch makes as it closes, signifying the leaving of everyday life behind me, escapism and a sanctuary – wildlifes own little Ark in a sea of Agricultural land. Everything beyond this gate and above the mountain wall is in its own little haven, under the management of the national trust.
I’ve observed lots of wildlife from Hares and Rabbits to Badgers and Foxes, even a glimpse of the elusive Roe deer as it delicately picks its way through the dawn lit woodland. As I visited daily I got to observe the changing of the seasons from the bare trees in winter to the eruption of spring building to the crescendo of birdsong and Bluebells.
The first few visits were very much a march to the top of the hill for the distant views and an amble back home but the more I visited the further down the slopes I ventured until eventually reaching the woodlands, this is where I started a conversation with the place which continued as the season changed.
During the final few weeks of spring I was drawn to one area in particular. A clearing on the Western slopes of the hill, which erupted into a cascade as the bluebells awoke from their winter slumber.
