Otley Chevin Forrest

Otley


Went on a day trip to Otley. There was a victorian Christmas fair on in the town but then we walked up and though the forrest.

It was a different type of forrest than at Meanwood park, it had a different atmosphere and aura to it. Here everything was quite grey and more tangly than curly. It seemed more dense with thinner trees that had lots of jaunty angles.

There were some really white beaches amongst the darker ones. Also I felt that there was a clear dark side to each tree...

At the top the major branches there was an explosion of twigs which in parts was extremely dense and reduced your sight through the forrest.

It was quite a steep slope up the hill with a very unsafe path. We stopped off here to do some drawings (and catch our breath). I found it interesting with the angles of the trees and the slope.

I found it really hard capturing all the layers of the trees in my drawings and capturing the power that trees have through my mark making.

Here I was capturing the fun that people enjoy climbing up trees... and the satisfaction when they are up there... but also that they struggle to get down again.. Linking to my research oak woods 'increases energy level' which was evident here.

As well as tree climbing, rope swings are also fun...

It was really crazy how alone you could be in these woods. I feel like this photograph captures how empty and quiet it was...

Very peaceful...

This photo really captures the atmosphere and the shape of the trees with how dense they are.

As the sun began to set, which was quite early, light started to stripe across the trees which highlighted how green they were

As it began to go darker I strongly decided that I wouldn't like to be lost/stuck up there on my own in the dark. It was very beautiful but definitely had a scary haunting element too it... But if there was a problem and we couldn't get down before it got dark there was a pre-made den!