Our Shropshire Stories
The Last Lynx of Lostford, by Megan Beddow,
Broseley C of E Primary School
Crouching low in the thick bracken of Lostford forest, hoping that my older brother wouldn’t find me, I never expected to encounter an animal thought to be extinct. I huddled under the spiky camouflage of my hiding place as thundering feet rushed past, but became distracted at a sudden movement. Peering over the bracken, I saw two long, black tufts of fur perched on swivelling, pointed ears. As the creature began to walk away, curiosity got the better of me and I crawled out of my hiding place to get a better look. I was shocked to see that the creature was a majestic big cat, a lynx. They were said to be extinct but it was definitely there. Its grey fur looked soft and powdery and its piercing eyes were emerald green. I had found the Last Lynx of Lostford. I rushed home to tell my parents the
amazing news about the graceful lynx but to my horror, they didn’t believe a word I told them. I insisted we went to the local library to research the lynx. I told the librarian that we were looking for a book about the lynx as I had seen one in Lostford wood. “You do know what Lostford means don’t you?” she asked. We all shook our heads. “It means Ford of the Lynx.” That made my parents believe me at last. We went back to the forest the next day. We hurried through the dense, green foliage with a huge camera to snap a photo of the great, majestic big cat. I led my parents and brothers through the trees until I noticed two quivering black tufts poking out from behind a tree. I motioned for them to stop and held the camera up as the lynx began to pad away through the moss and leaves. My brother sneezed. The lynx snapped his head around sharply, scrutinising us with penetrating slits of eyes. I quickly snapped a photo of the beast with its head turned, holding my breath as it continued to stare. It didn’t pounce, it didn’t
even growl, it turned and hurried elegantly away to its woodland home. News that a lynx had been spotted spread like wildfire and everyone was asking my family about it. Crowds flocked to the edge of the forest, anxious to catch a glimpse of the famous cat. The brilliant picture that I had managed to take was plastered all over the newspapers and the newsagent’s was sold out by noon! The whole county was abuzz with excitement and the lynx’s wood had to be fenced off so that it could have some peace. I still went there though, after all, this lynx would not harm me. I had found the last Lynx of Lostford.
this story was inspired by the place-name Lostford - to find out more, click here.
