I have walked along Tatmore Hills Lane a good many times. So it's familiar territory but I like the way a place or landscape reveals more about itself with each visit. Clearly it's an ancient track. Sunken lanes -sometimes called hollow lanes or hollaways- are invariably archaic.

 The lane meets a tarmac road at Sootfield Green. I passed by this spot recently (see entry 8th. Dec) and mused that "Green" in a place name sometimes referred to a clearing within a woodland. Sootfield Green lies between Wain Wood and West Wood. It seems reasonable to suppose that the various woods nearby are fragments of a much wider woodland that once existed.

 I thought of the walk from Wain to West Wood via Tatmore Hills in Bluebell season (see entry May 4th. 2023). Both woods are noted for their Bluebells and the hedgebanks along the lane are brimming with Bluebells and other woodland wildflowers. Notably there is a damp dell carpeted with Ramsons which are unusual round here (see entry 28th. April 2024).

 There are open fields on either side of the lane. I imagine they were formed by felling the surrounding tree cover centuries ago. It was common to retain a sliver of the original woodland to define the boundary rather than planting a hedge. That might explain the profusion of Bluebells, Ramsons and other woodlanders along the lane.

 Researching Sootfield Green I learned that Tatmore Hills Lane was once called Wayley Green Lane. A thousand years ago Welei was a community of around 60 people who farmed 240 acres hereabouts. Perhaps it was they who created the fields? Local historians have speculated that Welei meant "sacred grove" in Old English, possibly with the connotation that it was a grove sacred to heathens. It has been suggested the dell is the remnant of that grove. Such things precede any records so we may never know for sure. 

 I rambled this way today with a local walking group. I've been on their mailing list for a while but this is the first time I've joined them. I had just posted my entry about Sootfield Green when I received the mail that this was to be the meeting point of their walk so it seemed serendipitous. 

 The group has a particular interest in the flora and fauna of the area and pool their knowledge as they go. Always very interesting to chat with people who have their specialisms as well as general knowledge. We saw some great sights- ranging from a large Barn Owl in flight to tiny fungi on a branch. And it gave me another opportunity to ponder the history and mystery of Tatmore Hills Lane.