I'm sure that Hallowe'en did begin its life as a pagan celtic festival Samhain (pronounced sawh-in) and I'm sure that even though us Brits (even us Brits with more than a little celtic blood coursing through our veins) consider it to be a north American festival these days, there's no doubts it began its life in Ireland and Scotland centuries ago.

Guising still happens on Hallowe'en in Scotland, Ireland and the USA (trick or treating in England) but I can't be doing with it personally.

I actually find the notion of it disgusting - my parents never banned us from guising (or trick or treating) but we never went - we found the idea of demanding sweets from our neighbours (or we'd flour and egg their car) beyond our respectful comprehension I'm happy to admit, so we never did go trick or treating.

But.

We did have our own type of fun on Hallowe'en.

I clearly remember hiding in the garden after dark on 31st October, when I was a boy, sometimes with a mask on, or sometimes a bed sheet - and scaring the living bejayzus out of any group of kids who were foolish enough to walk up our dark drive.

My sisters and I turned hosepipes on trick or treaters. The hose was pushed through our letterbox from the inside and if someone knocked on the door dressed as a monster, we'd soak them.

We made "treats" for the jolly japesters - in the form of nice jammy sandwiches (laced with tobasco and hot english mustard) and all in all we'd have a hoot on Halloween - ruining any trick or treaters nights.

I'd still do the same now to be honest if I could be bothered.

Like I say (and you can call me grumps or scrooge - I care not a jot) - we wouldn't have dreamed of demanding sweets from our neighbours or we'd play a "trick" on them. We were brought up too well and maybe in too middle class a fashion (if that exists).

But, consider it to be celtic in origin or north American (they do seem to particularly love celebrating Hallowe'en in the states - but then again, ask any white American whether they're American or not and most of them are only too keen to prove how Irish/Scottish they are - I guess its just an extension of that), love it or hate it, its here and here to stay.

My wife and I will get visited tonight by ugly, warty orcs dwarfs and goblins (thats without their costumes on) and we will duly not answer the door. I will move my car if it looks like it will be egged and I am seriously considering my old hosepipe trick tonight.

Yep  - I can't stand our modern day notion of Hallowe'en and I don't care what you say.

But.

I did drive to a supposedly satanic sight yesterday just before dawn to revel in the other-worldly mysteriousness of an enchanted forest when the year turns and winter starts to draw in.

On the 29th October at around 8pm here in Blighty we had our October full moon (the "Hunters moon") and very often at the end of October (until the middle of November really) the local beech trees all tend to glow for a couple of weeks before shedding their multicoloured leaves before December hits us.

We are lucky enough to live near one of the greatest of the UK's mixed deciduous woodlands - the HUGE (540 acres) Burnham Beeches in south Buckinghamshire.

This quite beautiful area (beeches, oaks, birches, conifers, small heaths and ponds) has always held a fascination for me - and many, MANY others it would seems.

It's famous for a number of reasons, many motion pictures and television programmes have been filmed within the woods themselves and its always had something of a dark reputation - something I am very comfortable with I think.

Since being exposed to the film "Watcher in the Woods" in the early 1980s, (thanks Dad) and since spending months in woodlands all night on my own (surveying badger setts) where any deer bark was a werewolf, any fox scream was someone being murdered and any twig snap was someone about to get you - I've almost forced myself to actually really enjoy being out and about in the dark (the pitch dark sometimes) on my own. I don't believe in ghosts (at all) I should hasten to add, even though I could possibly whiten your hair with two unexplained "ghost stories" that have actually happened to me...

I've always maintained that graveyards are fantastic places to be after dark if you love wildlife -because thanks to the plethora of graveyard horror movies given to us (mainly from America again) in the last 50 or so years - you're almost certain to have the graveyard to yourself after dark. Animals do very well in the grounds of churches - if I want to watch weasels or stoats or even glow worms - the best places I know are almost invariably graveyards.

Yep - I love dark places at night.

Dark, creepy places.

I guess I'm lucky that I'm 6'3", heavily built and hardly look like a victim, so I haven't courted much trouble after the sun has disappeared generally, wherever I am. (People tend to run away from me screaming!)

I am very much at home in woods. Large woods. Woods that you can get lost in. I find them magical places - full of life - non-human life. Its why I am dreadfully depressed by mountains  - no trees!

So I skipped off to Burnham Beeches just after the Hunters' moon yesterday before dawn, just before Hallowe'en to revel in my more-than-a-little-pagan tendencies.

She (the wood) looked magnificent yesterday at dawn, although I think we still have another ten days to go before the beech leaves are at their orange/yellow best.

Burnham Beeches is long associated with druids, paganism and even satanism. Its not hard to see why really. Scary, creaky, creepy dark woodlands. Huge gnarled twisted tree trunks. Impenetrable holly bushes and brambles. Foxes (and victims?) screaming under the dark canopy.

The (in)famous nutter David Icke has even suggested in his book "The biggest secret" that Edward Heath (former PM of the UK) took part in Satanic rituals in Burnham Beeches -where he and his freemason illuminati would change into ten foot reptiles. (click here and then CTRL and F - search for "Burnham" and you'll see what I mean).

Burnham Beeches is allegedly riddled with secret manholes and subterranean chambers, CCTV cameras and hidden tunnels - uh huh.

It certainly holds a Hallowe'en fancy dress party each year  - if you fancy going this year you'll have to get your clogs on - it starts in 15 minutes...

All nonsense aside, I can certainly appreciate why some people find woodland terrifying - during the day let alone the night. I'm just lucky I'm not one of them and thoroughly enjoyed prowling around one of my favourite woods yesterday morning.

All photos accompanying this blog post were taken at dawn yesterday morning in the infamous, pagan, spooky, satanic, beautiful Burnham Beeches.