Into the no-go zone – and back for old maps

Stanford Wood, Bedfordshire In our dog days this wood was a favoured spot, now I began to understand its origin

A ghost came with me to the local wood that I had not visited in over 12 years. I imagined him sitting in the car panting at my shoulder all the way and then yipping with excitement when we pulled into the layby. I half reached for a lead that was not there and shut the car door quietly.

In our dog days this was a favoured spot, a conifer plantation where he could do no harm, a springy floored place without seasons where a wee up a tree was all he could leave behind.