I once watched an enormous 'controlled' blaze on Exmoor. A farmer had been pestering the National Trust and National Park for ages to get permission to burn gorse and bracken. He was partly concerned that it was encroaching on good grazing, and also because it was harbouring increasing numbers of ticks. In the end, he got permission, and my route for the day had great views of the inferno, though thick clouds of smoke made it difficult to get good pictures of the scenery. Towards the end of my walk I talked to the farmer, and he pointed out where the National Trust and National Park observers were standing. He mentioned it was a 'controlled' blaze, and when I joked that it seemed a little bit out of control earlier, he laughed and said... "Yeah, that's what those folk said too, but I told them it was all fine. To be honest, though, I really thought it was out of control at one point!"
