I'm living in England's Last Wilderness. In the article you will see a photograph, not of the West Allen Valley where the monastery is however the country is similar and basically just over the hill from here. Our valley is slap in the middle of the area described. The author circled but did not traveled down 'our valley', few people from outside of the area travel down 'our road'.
'If not quite virgin country - man has left his mark here - this is as close as England comes to untrammeled territory.' That's until the BT men came this morning in their big trucks and started to pull up the telephone poles on the 'bottom road'. Lots of loud shouting in an otherwise silent valley save for sounds of cows, sheep and birds. Oh, and the sounds of the monasteries bells and the wooden time block.
It's good news though. I asked one of the men about the state of the phone cables, 'All underground now'. 'What's our chances of getting Broadband'? 'Good, no problems...except' pointing to one of the remaining poles, 'you're on a party line, see that dext up there'? (I think he said 'dext', it was a technical term anyway.) 'Can't get Broadband, 'cos it keeps dropping the line. But there are enough lines in that cable to give you your own line'. Invaluable words from the all knowing men on the ground.
The modern world of fast internet connections are inching their way into our wilderness. For a number of people living in isolated circumstances, I'd imagine this is a life line.
