Day 142: The Magic Forest

I took my friend and small boy to Pressmennan Wood today to do the trail I mentioned in my post on Day 90.  There are 3 houses belonging to Glingbobs and Tootflits around the trail and a few other things to find along the way.
There is a beautifully drawn map to follow and small boy loved it - he wanted to hold it all the way around but this was hampering our speed as he got slower and slower as he studied it!  My friend had been building it up for him so he was excited about it - telling him about the magic forest and that there were magical creatures living there and we had to look out for them and for their houses.
He was pretty enthralled and when we found the Glingbob house which is near the ground he wouldn't go up to it on his own just in case!  His mum had to go first to look at it up close and knock on the little door to see if anyone was in, and only after that would he go and look too!

I loved looking out for the sculptures and examining them and photographing them but I really loved the simple photos like the one at the top of the post.  I came to a realisation as I was looking through the photos trying to decide what to post.  Pressmennan is magical, and was magical before the sculptures were created.  I've always loved this forest and certainly the last time I was there, and the time before too I think, I noticed just how much there is about it that I love and how much there is to see.  Even on a dull miserable day it is so green and there is so much texture.  In autumn there are fungi to look for.  But I think it is probably most apparent on a day like today with the sunshine streaming through the trees, the butterflies meandering between flowers, bright streaks as blue damselflies go zipping past, bird song everywhere and tiny flies catching the light looking like fairies dancing over the paths.  The sculptures give people a prod in the right direction.  They give kids evidence of what they want to believe and adults a good excuse to indulge in fantasy.  But mostly they are physical manifestations of something that is already there residing in the very trees themselves.  The spirit of Pressmennan Wood is very much alive and there for all to see.

Day 90: The Tootflit's House

We went for a walk in the woods with the dog and I got some nice shots of random foresty sunny niceness but this is the coolest thing I've seen in a long time! First we came across a nice carved stump with an oval hole in it, then another tree stump with steps carved into it leading up to a tiny bench with a sign above it pointing to 2 different houses and then a little further along the path there was a green painted stone - this one seemed a little odd and obvious, but then through the trees my dad spotted this house halfway up a tree! There was also a frog sitting on a tree stump before we got back to the car. It turns out that this is a project by a local sculptor, Robin Wood (best name for a wood sculptor ever!), and the Woodland Trust Scotland to encourage kids out into the forests and to look around them and make it fun. However, I say screw the kids - this is my kinda thing - awesome hidden sculptures to find? I'm in! I definitely want to come back here sometime soon to do the walk with all the sculptures on it :-)
For anyone local: Pressmennan Wood