A mystery in a lost domain

We went to the woods today to collect whinberries (also known as bilberries, whortleberries or huckleberries), but there were almost none. Gutted! I'd left it too late: the spell of hot weather followed by heavy rain must have ripened them early then washed them away. There were a fair number of wild red currants though, seeded by birds, and together with the last few whins we gathered just enough berries make a fruit tart - and had a long walk.

Hidden away on the edge of the wood is this ruined farm of Pant-teg (pleasant hollow). It must once have been a substantial holding. There was a good sized house with a range of barns and outbuildings; traces of a terrace and a sloping garden remain but trees and undergrowth have encroached so as to render the site barely visible and difficult of access. Abandoned dwellings such as this are common in our area, the result of social and economic change in the countryside over the past 200 years.

Here son and dog can be seen exploring the ruins of the farm house. My son is standing by a couple of stone steps that lead down to the entrance and a moment later he looks down and spots an old wooden box tucked beneath the bottom step. Excited, we crouch to examine the contents, hoping for gold sovereigns or some other long-lost treasure. But what we find are damp and crumbling items that are not so old, they seem to date from 8 or 9 years ago. There are soggy postcards and greeting cards, tickets to music festivals and rugby matches, mildewed photographs, the order of service for an old man's funeral in a nearby church, and a pre-natal foetal scan from a Swansea hospital. It's all rather chilling. Could these be someone's cherished momentoes, stolen and dumped when found to be worthless, or are they the abandoned relics of a broken marriage, a failed romance or a bereavement, interred in a place that had some emotional significance? We debate what to do. Should we retrieve the things in case the owner would be delighted to have them back or should we leave them on the assumption they were deliberately relinquished? In the end we take a few items in order to try to identify the owner with the help of a local contact who may be familiar with the names and the circumstances.

It was a slightly sombre ending to the berrying expedition. The woodland berry tart was delicious though.