In this day and age it would be mad to even suspect a place isn't being looked after round the clock by teams of environmentalists. They're probably tidying around you as you read this.
Trudging through Delamere Forest though, the idea tends to seem less ludicrous. I'm not saying the place is a tip or anything, rather I'm hinting at the overgrown primeval mass of trunk and branch that constitutes the forest. For starters, it's huge, the largest in Cheshire. It's not difficult to imagine a bear lumbering out of the greenery towards you, or the Nazgul.
A glacier scraping its way through the area during the ice age left enough room for wetlands to bubble up out of the ground and gurgle. Blakemere Moss is such a lake in the forest, about a kilometre across and reputedly drained by Napoleonic prisoners. Although it was only refilled in 1998, it feels eerily prehistoric. Every time a duck flies over your head you end up flinching in case it's a pterodactyl. They still exist, right?
In short, this is a fantastic place to stumble around if you're not in the mood for civilisation. Provided your dog doesn't get stolen like mine once did here you'll be fine. Don't worry though, they gave him back. What rubbish crims. read more