Aspen Fell – Endless – click any image for full size
Aspen Fell – Endless is the latest iteration of the always evocative region of that name. As the last time I blogged about a visit there was in early 2014, a return was long overdue. Thus we set out to both renew an acquaintance and explore a new setting.
A visit starts in a skybox located just above the region – follow the arrows through the little shack and use the teleport to reach ground level in the south-east corner of the region. Here a clock floats in the air, time ticking slowly and eternally as rain falls from a pale sky and sunlight is reflected off of surrounding snowy peaks.
Gates set into the remnants of a wall lead you onward, up and out of the rain to where an old boxcar sits on the rusting rails of an old railway siding. The aged state of car and rails are a sharp contrast to the pristine white of a chaise lounge close by, the first indication that Aspen is still a place where visitors are welcome to come and while away the hours.
Aspen Fell – Endless
Walk back around the boxcar and down the slope facing west, and the rain gives way to snow which is slowly drifting on either side of a winding path. If you prefer, you can follow the railway tracks northwards along the edge of the island and see what they might bring. There are no rules here; only the freedom to explore.
Should you follow the track, you’ll find yourself led to a rocky outcrop, another wall and gates – something of a motif within the region – standing guard over the end of the tracks. A tunnel has been cut through the rocks, rectangular in shape and perhaps once the route trains may have used to deliver trucks to the siding you’re leaving behind.
Aspen Fell – Endless
With tracks now gone, the tunnel offers a way down to the north corner of the region, bathed in sunlight and washed by rain, the tall finger of a lighthouse standing sentinel, familiar gates marking your path north and west.
Follow the path westward from the boxcar, and you’ll find it forks and forks again. The fist fork will take you north once more, through trees and on the opposite bank of the river flowing alongside the train tracks. Continue west and you’ll be shown the way over a stream via a bridge suspended by balloons, before the path branches again, pointing you either on westwards or to the north and over a conventional wooden bridge and then around another tall rocky plateau, from which waterfalls tumble.
Aspen Fell – Endless
If you haven’t already surmised, this a rural setting, bordering on the Great Outdoors. The land is a beautifully compose mix of lowlands, gentle slopes, high outcrops and plateaus marked by slopes and paths leading up to them, and meandering streams and pools of water which natural break up the land.
The entire setting is, in a word, idyllic, complete with a rich mix of ambient sounds which greatly enhances the feeling on immersion: rain patters and splashes against the ground and water, bids sing from the trees in the sunlit areas, water splashes and sucks against wooden board walks, horses whiny, while in the distance a piano plays, deep under the trees, and here and there the ticking of a clock can be heard – time being another motif within the region. While for those who prefer, the audio stream offers music to match the mood of the region.
Aspen Fell – Endless
Aspen Fell is a region which has never failed to present an evocative, atmosphere environment, and with Aspen Fell – Endless, this continues to be the case. A visit here is to lose oneself, with lots of opportunities for sitting and contemplating, and especially for sharing with someone close. If you’re with a loved one, we can recommend the wishing well in particular – we liked it so much, we bought a copy for the garden at home!
Should you be as entrance by a visit as we were, do please consider a donation towards keeping the region open for others to enjoy.
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