Author Archives: East of Elveden

About East of Elveden

Hidden places, secret histories and unsung geography from the east of England and beyond

Under the Greenwood Tree – Forest Bathing in the Deep, Deep Woods of Coed Felinrhyd

Posted on September 5, 2017

The Japanese have an expression – shirin-yoku (‘forest bathing’) — which refers to time spent in a wood or forest for purposes of health and relaxation. Scientific field studies have demonstrated that spending even a short time among trees promotes … Continue reading →

Posted in Folklore, Travel, Walking | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Blyth Spirit

Posted on July 28, 2017

Back in April I took part in a writing workshop in Suffolk led by Ivor Murrell of Suffolk Poetry Society and Melinda Appleby of Waveney & Blyth Arts. The workshop encouraged the participants to immerse themselves in the sights, sounds … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Suffolk, Uncategorized, wildlife | Tagged , , , , , | 18 Comments

Sacred Fig

Posted on June 2, 2017

A recent re-reading of Richard Mabey on the ancient and revered Fortingall Yew in Scotland put me in mind of other trees with a well-documented spiritual connection. Such a tree is the sacred fig (Ficus religiosa) or bodhi tree in … Continue reading →

Posted in Asia, Travel | Tagged , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

The Minster in The Saints

Posted on April 20, 2017

The Saints is a small, loosely defined area of northeast Suffolk just south of the River Waveney and the Norfolk border. Effectively it is a fairly unremarkable patch of arable countryside that contains within it a baker’s dozen of small … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Suffolk, Travel, wildlife | Tagged , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Skellig Michael – The Edge of the World

Posted on March 17, 2017

Today is St Patrick’s Day and March 17 is the supposed date of the 5th-century missionary’s death. Patrick was the forerunner of many early missionaries who came to Irish shores to preach Christianity, the island more receptive to new ideas … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Islands, Travel, wildlife | Tagged , , , , , | 11 Comments

Ladywood: Two Towers and a Reservoir

Posted on February 4, 2017

It had been many years since I had been to Ladywood. This inner city borough of Birmingham had long been a mythic landscape for me even before I became aware of any sort of Tolkein connection. It was here that … Continue reading →

Posted in Cities, History, Midlands, Walking | Tagged , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Hethel Old Thorn

Posted on December 16, 2016

If trees could only speak. If they had some semblance of sentience and memory, and a means of communication, what would they tell us? Ancient trees – or at least those we suspect to be very old – are usually … Continue reading →

Posted in Folklore, History, Norfolk, wildlife | Tagged , , , , , | 7 Comments

Memory fields in the city of sock-wearers

Posted on November 22, 2016

The small city of Kruševac in south-central Serbia is probably best known for its fortress and 14th-century church, a fine example of the highly decorative Morava school. This was Prince Lazar’s capital in the late 14th century and it was … Continue reading →

Posted in Balkans, Eastern Europe, History, Travel | Tagged , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Tara

Posted on November 3, 2016

A few days ago I visited the monastery of Rača close to the border town of Bajina Bašta in western Serbia. The monastery lies at the edge of the Tara National Park that stretches south west from just beyond the … Continue reading →

Posted in Balkans, Eastern Europe, Walking, wildlife | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

All along the supple river: following the Ystwyth to the sea

Posted on September 29, 2016

  ystwyth (Welsh) adjective:  supple, flexible, pliable The harbour at Aberystwyth on the west coast of Wales holds the confluence of two rivers. One of these, the Rheidol, is probably best known for the narrow-gauge steam railway that plies its … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Human Geography, Walking | Tagged , , , , | 7 Comments