Just as California exudes a deja vu sense of familiarity because you’ve seen it all somewhere before in a movie or TV show, England feels as if you’ve stepped into a fairytale book. At least here in rural Cheshire, as we drive the narrow winding roads through gently rolling meadows, brilliantly green, dotted with sheep or cows, I feel transported not only to another place but another time.
We tried to walk off our jetlag by walking through the woods at Alderley Edge. Alderley Edge is a magical wood, somewhat spooky, with its own stories of goblins, wizards, white horses, and knights suspended in sleep, ready to waken to England’s defense. The modern fantasy novel, The Weirdstone of Brillagmen is set at Alderley Edge.
Walking through the woods, one sees a movement in the trees, out of the corner of one’s eye. Tree limbs snake out over the path, casting shadows of long crooked fingers and the twisted trunks hint at hidden creatures ready to transform themselves back and spring from their hiding places.