Writings of a small town nature.

Throughout small towns, I believe across all continents of this earth, there is a nature and thus a beauty that is so easily and readily overlooked by society in general. Though some countries in their major cities make a great effort to provide large open spaces of greenery, within this writing I shall be focusing on the small towns hidden nature, most specifically, my home town of East Grinstead‘s, nature.

East Grinstead is a small English town in the county of West Sussex laying neatly next to it's boarders with Surrey, Kent and East Sussex. With the Greenwich Meridian Line running through this old market town, many come to visit for the history and surrounding landscapes.

For those of us who live here, the Tudor buildings and sweeping green hills and farmland simply fade into the background of our daily lives. Though many try to make the most of the nearby Ashdown forest, home to the infamous Winnie the Pooh, within our towns boarders there always seems to be a lack of greenery... Sure we have small greens, a fair few parks and recreational grounds, our only REAL large open space is East Court.

A hub of activity, East Court is a focal point for life within East Grinstead, from children to the elderly, families and dog walkers alike all gather to enjoy the broad field, playgrounds and woodlands. With the Meridian Hall, used for weddings and parties, overlooking the park with its cascading hill of well kept grass, and the football club and scouts hut taking residence in a small corner by the main entrance there are plenty of people coming and going most of the daylight hours.

Into the Woods...

The woodlands of East Court will always hold a piece of my heart, as the woodlands in which I roamed in my childhood through to present day. With it's enchanting streams, wild meadows, ponds, and trails that are easy to wander along, diving here and there onto smaller tracks unmarked on the map, in search of adventures away from the eyes of nearby dog walkers. These woodlands capture the imagination of any who seek the bewitchment of the English woodlands.

Though technically named Ashplats Wood, locals know it as the East Court woods, within the woods are a myriad of ancient and young trees, some native to England and others imported from far away lands.

As I sit and write this I am sat in my favourite spot in the woodlands, just behind the cover of Oak trees off from a sun drowned meadow, by the edge of a stream. Here is often come and sit, read, write, or simply think (I have also been known to make this a good spot for a picnic on a nice summer day). The gentle sway of the trees, with their various shades of green, from a deep emerald to an almost effervescent chartreuse, I sit and watch them in their late afternoon glow of the sun for what feels like 30 minutes. Listening to the sounds of nature is quite possibly my favourite music of all, but, I quite often listen to some music with one headphone in, just to help create my own little world full of the sounds that bring me joy. Often I will listen to music by John Denver, his appreciation for nature is a welcome accompaniment.

My encouragement for those reading is to make the time to enjoy the open spaces around you, focus on the details, the subtleties of nature that lay all around us. If you are lucky like me to live somewhere rural this can be easy, however in cities and large towns I can appreciate how it may feel as though there is no nature. I implore you to look for the small signs of life, the small flower growing out through the cracks in the contrete.

Small signs of life can be anything but finding them and enjoying them for their beauty can be a wondrous experience.