[slideshow]I haven’t been on my usual walk up to the forest for over two weeks. Things change in that time. New leaves are budding and, as the old leaves crumble away, they seem to reveal quite a bit of rubbish that has been hiding underneath them for the winter!

At last the celandines are really out and sunning their faces in the fist warm afternoon of the year – the wind is still quite nippy though.

At the top of the hill I was stopped in my tracks by something NEW! A Statutory Forest Boundary Marker. This must be something very new, as I’ve not seen these anywhere before. If a sheep was to stand where I took the picture, it would be outside the Statutory Forest – that is the Official Royal Forest of Dean as described in Statutes laid down by King and Parliament. It could legally be rounded up and taken somewhere to be given a severe ticking off!

The Statutes caused problems during the foot and mouth epidemic. The Statutory Forest is officially classed as a farm. Shepherds, known locally as Badgers (coz they have the badge?) are allowed to let their sheep run free in the Forest. Because of its legal position, DEFRA was not allowed to order sheep to be penned up safely or stop people and vehicles traipsing all over the forest spreading the disease. This led to the forest being filled with Gung Ho! types riding around in 4x4s sterilising anything that moved. After weeks of smelling the burning sheep carcasses, the army was called in, everything was rounded up, shot and buried in a big hole in the ground. I still haven’t forgiven Tony Blair for that disaster either.