Few places in our part of the world have so much history and scenic views to offer as this part of England. It is sometimes like taking a walk through both space and time, and you never know what's around the corner.

To be honest there has been a lot of surprises since I assumed that England was flat when I came here, and that the hills and deep valleys was something you would only find in Scotland and Ireland. But I was wrong.
There are some amazing views if you know where to look, and if you want to make sure not to miss them, the Peak District is perfect. Some parts of it looks as if it's been imported from Switzerland.

Since I came here I've discovered things that I haven't seen or done since I was a kid in Sweden. People here knows how to enjoy the country side, even if they live in the city. Picnics will gather family members of all ages, and public footpaths can be found everywhere. There is a lot of activity at historic places like Chatsworth House, Newstead Abbey and Rufford Abbey in the summertime and the visitors includes both grandparents, parents and kids of all ages.

I promised myself early that I would never get blind for the beauty that this green island has to offer. As we all know it's easy to get use to our own surroundings when we see them every day, but I found that it was easier to keep it all fresh and new by carrying my camera.
To capture moments when the light was just perfect, or just for the sake of remember a certain time or place, I've managed to keep my observing's fresh. And they can still amaze me, no question about that.

Sherwood Forest is always worth a visit. At least if you are interested in the abstraction of old trees and tree trunks. Of course the legend around Robin Hood makes a walk through the Oak Trail at Sherwood Forest Visitor Center special too. Sherwood Pines is another part of this enormous forest that is interesting with it's huge old pines, but it is along the Oak Trail you can find the old big oak where Robin Hood is said to have gathered his men. And if it is the legend that makes this big old forest so special, or the fact that it is very old and well preserved, I have no idea. Maybe a bit of both.

My favourite position while walking public footpaths or while strolling around in a forest somewhere in the fall is without any doubts on my knees on the ground, trying to capture small mushrooms. I really don't know why they are so fascinating, but maybe it is because it's rare that there are two that will look identical.

And it's easy to get lost when you keep staring at the ground instead of keeping track on where you are ;)
However, so far we've only been lost ones.
At some point I might just make a book with nothing but mushroom photos too. I do have enough shots to fill one, that's for sure.

I still enjoy macro photography more than anything if you exclude the mushroom hunts. There's always been this fascination around detail and what things look like on the inside, and these days I tend to take close up photos of items instead of picking them apart.
Most of the time anyway.

The photos in this article are not included in the book. The reason is that there simply wasn't enough space for everything that I wanted to show.
Who knows...I might publish them in a new book later.