Recent rain made the steep hill slippery, and I lost my footing several times as I hauled my way up through the trees. At last, I reached the badger sett. There were about 30 holes scattered beneath half a dozen beech trees, and most were either blocked with dead leaves or jammed by fallen branches, but four or five were clearly in current use. I went over to the largest. I’m always surprised by the size of a badger’s front door; they even look wide enough for me to crawl down. Raftered with tree roots, the badger tunnel ran downwards, quickly disappearing into darkness.