One agnostic went on a journey that tested his beliefs. Or the lack of them. Recently, Gawan Mac Greigair has bought an Ordnance Survey (national mapping agency in the United Kingdom) hiking map, and found a place of worship symbol in the “middle of bloody nowhere.” “It’s 4cm to 1 mile, so it’s the right scale to be able to include symbols for intriguing things in the landscape, including historic monuments, ancient earthworks, places of worship and so on,” Gawan told Bored Panda. Wondering what that particular one actually was, he decided to see for himself.
“I happened to have a free afternoon on that day, and there was heavy fog blanketing the top of the North Downs all day,” he said. “I couldn’t resist the chance of an otherworldly walk in mist.”
“The North Downs is a range of chalk hills in Kent (which give the White Cliffs of Dover their whiteness) – it’s classed as ‘Ancient Countryside’, and it is full of secretive nooks and crannies, and has a long history. I had seen this symbol on the map before and it had intrigued me because it seemed unusual that a place of worship would be located quite far from any village and that it would be right on the edge of a woodland.”
Gawan doesn’t consider himself a believer in heaven. The man, however, still appreciates places where other forms of reality become tangible, where past and present interlace. “This place is certainly one, helped by the apparent merging of this ancient human structure with the woodland crowding close.”
“The most memorable part was the moment when – after thinking I had lost my way in the wood – I was approaching where the symbol on the map seemed to suggest the place of worship ought to be. I was straining to find it through the mist, which was difficult given that I didn’t know whether to look for a ruin, a pile of stones or an actual church. I think I gasped at the moment when I realized I was looking straight at it.” Scroll down to join Gawan on his unforgettable journey and follow in his footsteps!
More info: Twitter
Image credits: Gawan Mac Greigair
“I’m always moved by old woodbanks, knowing that they’ve acted as boundaries for centuries, and this wood was bounded by one, topped with spaghetti beeches and hornbeams”
Image credits: Gawan Mac Greigair
“The first section of wood was dominated by hazel coppice, which I feel I don’t encounter very often. I always imagine hazel as a friendly tree, which is just as well in this very Poe fog”
Image credits: Gawan Mac Greigair
“I came to my first turn, I had to turn right, at a right angle, on reaching this flooded track”
Image credits: Gawan Mac Greigair
Image credits: Gawan Mac Greigair
“But the experience of the woodland in this dense fog was a joy – the everyday took on an entirely different presence”
Image credits: Gawan Mac Greigair
Image credits: Gawan Mac Greigair
“I came across a sudden steep hollow. It seemed unmarked by any horsehoe of close contour lines on the OS map, so this is when I first started to suspect that I’d lost my way”
Image credits: Gawan Mac Greigair
“By the hollow, this old tree was simultaneously living and dead – a termite metropolis nevertheless sprouting fresh young limbs”
Image credits: Gawan Mac Greigair
“I checked my map again. Three sides of a squarish rectangle was my route. Two right angled turns to the right. Just past the hollow a muddy but confident track went fogward at 90 degrees. This must be my second turn. I must be pretty close”
Image credits: Gawan Mac Greigair
“Two pairs of beeches waltzed with each other alongside the track, as two birches stood by, waiting for their chance to cut in”
Image credits: Gawan Mac Greigair
“Last year’s beech leaves were still clinging on to saplings in the understory, where the winter winds weren’t able to dislodge them. A strange bright confetti in the murk”
Image credits: Gawan Mac Greigair
“But this side of my square route was getting absurdly long, it didn’t make sense any more. This imperious beech appeared to give me directions, but I couldn’t interpret its gestures and I don’t speak beech”
Image credits: Gawan Mac Greigair
“Primroses cheered me on though, urging me not to panic. Thanks guys, you’re the best”
Image credits: Gawan Mac Greigair
“I decided to take the next obvious right and hope for the best. It took me through a recent coppice, where the felling had exposed another monumental beech (a very unusual standard tree in a coppice, where oak is much more usual”
Image credits: Gawan Mac Greigair
Image credits: Gawan Mac Greigair
“I wasn’t quite sure what I was looking for – a recognisable structure, a hollow overgrown by hornbeam? But suddenly the hairs on my neck stood up and I realized I was already looking at it”
Image credits: Gawan Mac Greigair
“Just the suggestion of a gable, an echo of a spire, materialising surely with each step forward”
Image credits: Gawan Mac Greigair
“It wasn’t the heap of stones I’d half expected, but a tiny, living church that seemed to transpirate from the wood that it was nested in”
Image credits: Gawan Mac Greigair
Image credits: Gawan Mac Greigair
Image credits: Gawan Mac Greigair
Image credits: Gawan Mac Greigair
“I found it was open”
Image credits: Gawan Mac Greigair
Image credits: Gawan Mac Greigair
Image credits: Gawan Mac Greigair
Image credits: Gawan Mac Greigair
“I find it hard to state this without hugging myself and clapping my hands in childish glee, but this church has no electricity and is still lit by working gas lamps”
Image credits: Gawan Mac Greigair
Image credits: Gawan Mac Greigair
Image credits: Gawan Mac Greigair
“The fog seemed to press its nose to the windows”
Image credits: Gawan Mac Greigair
Image credits: Gawan Mac Greigair
“But it was held at bay by the colours inside”
Image credits: Gawan Mac Greigair
Image credits: Gawan Mac Greigair
Image credits: Gawan Mac Greigair
“I’m not a believer in heaven, but I appreciate the notion of places where other forms of reality become tangible, where past and present interlace”
Image credits: Gawan Mac Greigair
Image credits: Gawan Mac Greigair
Image credits: Gawan Mac Greigair
To read the whole story, visit Gawan on Twitter!
I guess he enjoyed the walk through the woods but it's actually only 1 minute by foot from a road! Untitled-5...6d-png.jpg
I find the story particularly beautiful and touching. The way the author experiences and describes the forest must stems from a long-lasting love for nature as a whole.
Like in RPG games. I'd expect a side quest or a special piece of equipment from such a place.
seems a bit out-of-the-way, but once you've found it, I guess you can just fast-travel there...
Load More Replies...a brilliant story beautifully told. I like how he said: “I’m not a believer in heaven, but I appreciate the notion of places where other forms of reality become tangible, where past and present interlace” it's clearly a place that has been long loved, it wouldn't be around now if it wasn't. I think I might pack a map and go off on an adventure myself now...
It looks creepy as heck, the kind you can go in but never leave. It would be a perfect movie set too. 😁
I can't help but think that he behaved exactly like a character in a horror movie would... Awesome story though!
I half-expected a jumpscare with every photo. I was sure there would be something unsettling inside the church!
Load More Replies...Wow, this looks amazing. The fog has done it's part to make it mystic and secretive. You are so lucky you found it! I'm jealous now! :D
This was a wondrous story; I felt like I was walking along with the author through the mist, so much so that I could smell the damp earth, feel the chill and hear the twigs snapping and the crunch of leaves beneath my steps.. I have always believed in God and this touched me deeply, I love when we encounter Him in unexpected places.
Hardly the middle of nowhere. https://www.google.co.nz/maps/@51.268395,0.7461093,3a,37.5y,350.17h,80.36t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sEZ_OzD7qhSQlsihzV8WZGg!2e0!7i13312!8i6656
completely, totally beautiful. but,with all the fog, looks like the first 5 minutes of 85% of every horror film i've seen.
Thanks for the beautiful story(even if it did feature a slightly exaggerated walk :P). A similar, albeit located in a more lively place, ancient 13th century church I've seen once somewhere in France was probably the only place where I ever felt something...like perhaps I could actually pray there and my prayers might be heard. I'm not religious but it's more than that, it's that most churches these days seem either museums - full of gold and intricate work of arts, or some kind of sect gathering where you're not allowed to wear certain clothes, stand in certain way, etc...where symbols become more important than actual faith. Places like this still carry the spirit of old sincerity, of how a church and a prayer should be. I'd love to visit that place.
This would be a great place to lay some geocaches and really learn the history of the church
Very cool. Fantastic pics. I would love to visit that picturesque place.
Love this!!! The romance, adventure, knowledge and understand of trees and cartography! I also love how sacred spaces are found in the same places--love, love, love
Take a look at the church at Welsh Bicknor near Goodrich in Herefordshire, they even pump the organ with hand bellows, though as it's the estate church the track is relatively clear
Thank you so much for sharing! It really looks amazing and beautyfull and creepy at the same time... Does this Church maybe has a name?
Wait, i found out the name, and the website! Take a look: https://www.wychling.org.uk/events.html
Load More Replies...A perfect example of a list of reasons to give to someone that asks you “why do you love The UK so much?” : 1) Astonishingly beautiful nature (the moist in the air just makes everything look soooo green and vibrant, you can see the colour even on a b/w picture) 2) Rich architectural history - such a mix in cultures in the middle ages, that you can please anyone with a taste for the monumental! 3) Functionality - even the oldest, most moldy, most rusty and God-remembered(!) place on the map has someone to look after it and tell you it’s millennial history 4) The well-preserved and documented origin of every little rock and planted tree (assuming it was manmade) from the moment a thought was conceived to the moment people gazed upon the remarkable result. Thank you for this, a well-told journey story!
You know, taking moody pictures is all well and good, but the color of those trees and flowers and even mud would have been much better.
I had to smile as I read the first portion of this page. The author lists all the different species of trees which he encountered. I'm not that knowledgeable. If I see a tree, I say, "Look, a tree." I have no idea what species it might be.
The pictures reminded me of this Amenabar movie, The Others, with Nicole Kidman...
Is this in wales? Also i get the feeling that it is very erie but a enjoyed reading it so thank you
You will find an estus flask there, plus an amber if you beat the haunted tree king
Ancient places of meeting and greeting the afterlife and the everlife.
Makes me want to wander through the woods and find something cool!
You lucky, lucky Bastard - Ben, Life of Brian. (think of me saying this in Michael Palin's best working class accent)
I great little adventure, both for the poster and for those of us reading it. Thank you!
I guess he enjoyed the walk through the woods but it's actually only 1 minute by foot from a road! Untitled-5...6d-png.jpg
I find the story particularly beautiful and touching. The way the author experiences and describes the forest must stems from a long-lasting love for nature as a whole.
Like in RPG games. I'd expect a side quest or a special piece of equipment from such a place.
seems a bit out-of-the-way, but once you've found it, I guess you can just fast-travel there...
Load More Replies...a brilliant story beautifully told. I like how he said: “I’m not a believer in heaven, but I appreciate the notion of places where other forms of reality become tangible, where past and present interlace” it's clearly a place that has been long loved, it wouldn't be around now if it wasn't. I think I might pack a map and go off on an adventure myself now...
It looks creepy as heck, the kind you can go in but never leave. It would be a perfect movie set too. 😁
I can't help but think that he behaved exactly like a character in a horror movie would... Awesome story though!
I half-expected a jumpscare with every photo. I was sure there would be something unsettling inside the church!
Load More Replies...Wow, this looks amazing. The fog has done it's part to make it mystic and secretive. You are so lucky you found it! I'm jealous now! :D
This was a wondrous story; I felt like I was walking along with the author through the mist, so much so that I could smell the damp earth, feel the chill and hear the twigs snapping and the crunch of leaves beneath my steps.. I have always believed in God and this touched me deeply, I love when we encounter Him in unexpected places.
Hardly the middle of nowhere. https://www.google.co.nz/maps/@51.268395,0.7461093,3a,37.5y,350.17h,80.36t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sEZ_OzD7qhSQlsihzV8WZGg!2e0!7i13312!8i6656
completely, totally beautiful. but,with all the fog, looks like the first 5 minutes of 85% of every horror film i've seen.
Thanks for the beautiful story(even if it did feature a slightly exaggerated walk :P). A similar, albeit located in a more lively place, ancient 13th century church I've seen once somewhere in France was probably the only place where I ever felt something...like perhaps I could actually pray there and my prayers might be heard. I'm not religious but it's more than that, it's that most churches these days seem either museums - full of gold and intricate work of arts, or some kind of sect gathering where you're not allowed to wear certain clothes, stand in certain way, etc...where symbols become more important than actual faith. Places like this still carry the spirit of old sincerity, of how a church and a prayer should be. I'd love to visit that place.
This would be a great place to lay some geocaches and really learn the history of the church
Very cool. Fantastic pics. I would love to visit that picturesque place.
Love this!!! The romance, adventure, knowledge and understand of trees and cartography! I also love how sacred spaces are found in the same places--love, love, love
Take a look at the church at Welsh Bicknor near Goodrich in Herefordshire, they even pump the organ with hand bellows, though as it's the estate church the track is relatively clear
Thank you so much for sharing! It really looks amazing and beautyfull and creepy at the same time... Does this Church maybe has a name?
Wait, i found out the name, and the website! Take a look: https://www.wychling.org.uk/events.html
Load More Replies...A perfect example of a list of reasons to give to someone that asks you “why do you love The UK so much?” : 1) Astonishingly beautiful nature (the moist in the air just makes everything look soooo green and vibrant, you can see the colour even on a b/w picture) 2) Rich architectural history - such a mix in cultures in the middle ages, that you can please anyone with a taste for the monumental! 3) Functionality - even the oldest, most moldy, most rusty and God-remembered(!) place on the map has someone to look after it and tell you it’s millennial history 4) The well-preserved and documented origin of every little rock and planted tree (assuming it was manmade) from the moment a thought was conceived to the moment people gazed upon the remarkable result. Thank you for this, a well-told journey story!
You know, taking moody pictures is all well and good, but the color of those trees and flowers and even mud would have been much better.
I had to smile as I read the first portion of this page. The author lists all the different species of trees which he encountered. I'm not that knowledgeable. If I see a tree, I say, "Look, a tree." I have no idea what species it might be.
The pictures reminded me of this Amenabar movie, The Others, with Nicole Kidman...
Is this in wales? Also i get the feeling that it is very erie but a enjoyed reading it so thank you
You will find an estus flask there, plus an amber if you beat the haunted tree king
Ancient places of meeting and greeting the afterlife and the everlife.
Makes me want to wander through the woods and find something cool!
You lucky, lucky Bastard - Ben, Life of Brian. (think of me saying this in Michael Palin's best working class accent)
I great little adventure, both for the poster and for those of us reading it. Thank you!
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