Quoted By:
>Be me last summer
>Walking a trail solo through the countryside
>Not completely out of civilisation but in a sparsely populated rural area by the coast
>This part of the country is isolated and there are no major infrastructure or developments
>People are friendly and warm if a bit old fashioned and set in their ways
>Sunset approaches so I head for the closest pub for a warm meal and a pint
>Plan to pitch in the beer garden with the permission of the landlord
>Arrive just as the sun starts to dip below the horizon.
pubsclosed.jpg
>"Bugger"
>Slightly miffed to have by vision of a comfy evening drinking with the locals thwarted by the coof
>Not too upset though, the trail takes me through a forest where I can sleep the night
>Forest is around a mile and half away so by the time I arrive it's twilight
>Forest isn't what I expected at all
>Not the old growth with large oaks and clearings to pitch in that I was used to in this part of the country
>Instead it turned out to be a plantation forest
>Looking it up now, the forest was planted in the late 40s after the war to provide lumber for reconstruction
>Appears neglected if not completely untouched
>The logging trails are overgrown and all trees are beyond maturity
>Plantation is made up of pines spaced regularly in rows and columns
>Walking through the place in twilight gave me a very uncanny feeling
>Whole place felt off - passing by each row of trees would open in to an "alley" that looked identical to the last
>pic related
>Began to feel unsettled for the first time in the multi day hike
>I knew the regularity of the plantation was spooking me
>The artificial symmetry and recurrence of the layout was unnatural and probably triggered some primal response in my brain keeping me alert
>However I had frequently walked through plantations before and never had this disquieting sensation
>I then realised I was walking in complete silence except for the crunch of pine needles under my feet.
cont
