Walking into the woods, darkness envelops us. Our eyes adjust. Silence. Our ears adjust. We can’t see the end and wonder if we need our torches. How far into the woods will we go? We’re Australian in UK following Wainwright’s Coast to Coast path. Are there bears in UK? No, only in USA and Canada we decide but we’re not certain. I’ve seen sun bears on walking tracks in South-East Asia, their long sharp talon marks on tree trunks they’ve climbed. What’s to be afraid of in the woods of UK? The darkness. The unknown. Movies have taught us to fear darkness and woods. We wouldn’t even call them woods, it’s a forest and we’ve walked safely through plenty of forests.
