Swings and Roundabouts

After being led to believe (by the council) that permitted development approval for the shelter was just a cheque and form away, and after several months of follow-up to-ing and fro-ing, we have been forced to take down the shelter. Very annoying especially as they seemed to say one thing then pointed to something else. Advice for anyone else planning to build a shelter or whatever in their wood; provide evidence of what you are using the wood for (even if it isn’t asked for in the form) such as copy of woodland management plan and photos of work done; don’t assume what the council tells you is the whole story (we were told one thing in letter, but there was info filed online that we weren’t aware of that would have clarified the situation a lot earlier). Considering the location next to a SSSI and close to a public footpath it was the right decision to go the official route rather than finish it then have to take it down; but if in a secluded non-SSSI wood with no footpath then I’d think about whether to just build something with low impact in keeping with the woods and hope for the best. The most annoying thing is not taking it down, but that it’s OK to have an ugly steel shipping container but not a small wooden shelter.

The Bongo is great, easy to drive right into the woods and very comfy to sleep in. Our visits since last posting have mostly seen us doing general management such as cutting back branches and leaning trees to keep the footpath free and controlling the bracken in the clearing so that other plants can grow and increase the diversity. We have more variety there now including hedge woundwort, buttercups, nettles and several things we don’t recognise. A big thanks to Rob for giving us the IR camera which has captured shots of rabbits, squirrels, foxes, deer and a woodcock over the past month. Deer shots tended to be from their rear so we think maybe they have a circuit route they follow; we’ll point the camera the other way and see if we get more faces than tails.

Winter’s Work

It’s been a while since the last post but we have not been idle in the woods. A few trees at the edge of the glade have been felled and put to good use as posts for the ‘forestry shelter’ we are building. Construction was delayed by the local planners but they have now been provided with evidence that the wood is being managed for forestry and that seems to have satisfied them. This is inspired by the classic roundhouses but is unlikely to see any wattle, daub or thatch; we are building for practicality rather than reconstructing the past so plan ‘A’ will be a tarpaulin roof. A central tripod construction adds stability as well as supporting the roof timbers and doubles as somewhere to work with the fro that Santa Claus bought (he also bought an axe, both made by the elves at Grandfors). The fro will be really useful in splitting wood for walls and roof supports, and maybe sometime in the future we’ll supplement the tarpaulin with some chestnut shingles. We have also bought a Mazda Bongo which is a 4x4 camper van, so we now have more room for bringing stuff to/from the woods as well as having some weekends away.

So long summer, its September

Back to the woods again and, no surprise, the bracken has flourished; so second job was giving that a bashing. Then it was raked into piles so we could see if we’d missed any. Although the bracken is still strong there are other plants competing well with it including grass and some flowering plants that we haven’t yet identified. So hopefully if we keep up with the brushcutting there will be a better balance to suit the butterflies and other wildlife. First job was as usual to walk the woods to check all is OK and see what is about on this visit. Autumn has brought with it many fungi, from little brown jobs to glorious agarics. We also cut back brambles that were again encroaching on the path between car park and glade. While over cups of tea and soup we thought about the option of building a roundhouse and marked out where it could be sited so as not to be a visual impact on the wood s and be convenient to the glade and camp fire.

July. Stuff and Nothing

We finally got the time and the weather to camp in the woods this month. It was good to be able to have more time at the woods to do stuff and do nothing too. The something included yet more bracken attack plus cutting back some bramble, while the nothing included sitting about playing guitar and mandolin, putting rails on the tree camp and attacking cans with rifle and catapult. We also cut back the overgrowth at the side of the track so we can get the car in without risk of scratching it up and this also gave a bit more light to the hedge trees we planted there. For the first time since we bought the wood we have fox gloves flowering, one in the glade and a few more in the area that was coppiced about 18 months ago. We made the most of an early morning to walk from the woods over to Bedgebury pinetum, using our sense of direction rather than a map we got there but not necessarily by the most direct route. It has been very many years since I was last there and it has been developed with new car park, a visitor centre and café, plus a bike shop. It’s a lot more popular now but has lost some of its quiet charm.

Our campfire cooking has improved with no major burning of sausages etc and the jacket spuds were perfect. There’s something about the flavour of spuds baked in a fire that can’t be beaten. Sam joined us one day and took many photos of texture etc as inspiration for his artistic talents. It was good to have a visit by Silva Energy who collected some logs and we agreed what area would be coppiced this winter. It will be good to get an area coppiced and the wood put to good use by others, but we will also be keeping an area of the wood to work on ourselves more slowly, plus there is great satisfaction in the work itself and seeing the difference that you are making.

Jungley June

Having missed out on the chance to visit the woods in half term (car issues, there’s always something!) we managed to get there mid-month and the place felt quite jungley with the lush new growth of the trees (and bracken and bramble too). As normal our visit started with a walk around the wood to see what’s what before doing any work or chilling or whatever. The orchids seem to have disappeared and the bluebells flowers are long gone and replaced by seed heads now. The colours of spring are gone and the wood is now vibrant with the glorious greens of summer. We noticed some deer tracks in the mud by the stream, which is now reduced to a trickle. The wayleave isn’t as overgrown as in previous years so didn’t need any cutting back this time. Work focussed on controlling the bracken in the glade so flowering plants have a chance to get established, and completing the reopening of the track from the parking place to the glade. 1 tank of chainsaw fuel was just enough to clear and process the trees that were blocking the route of the track and level off some taller stumps. Rob turned up in his Landy which had no trouble getting along the newly cleared route, happily riding over stumps that we will probably be more cautious in negotiating in 4x4 camper if we do get one at some point. But for now the track will be handy for extracting the logs that are stacked up in the glade. Tom spent time plinking cans and attacking bracken with machete and brushcutter, while Julie also attacked bracken and did a great job of getting a fire going so we could cook sausages for lunch.

May; Blooming Lovely

The bluebells were putting on a great show again. I do think we are luckier than many of us appreciate to have such beauty in our native land. You don’t have to travel the planet to see how wonderful this world is. Our time in the woods in May saw more pottering than hard work. A start was made on clearing an old 4x4 route through from the main track into the glade, another tank of chainsaw fuel should see it totally cleared and ready to allow access into the glade for collecting the stacks of logs there; and maybe sometime in the future we will get a 4x4 camper van – time will tell. The tree guards were retied to ensure the saplings had enough room to grow, all doing OK apart from 1 beech which has given up. Julie and Tom spent some time managing the bracken in the glade and the seating / camp fire area was pottered with too. Bluetits are again making use of one of the bird boxes (the same one that was used a couple of years ago). We will move the others before next spring to see if a different location encourages these to be used too. And great news; the pile of rubbish that had been getting bigger near the wood entrance has now disappeared – yay!

April, Wet and Dry

The first visit in April found us driving into a very wet wood. The track was muddier than ever, not helped by being churned up by persons unknown including those who had increased the size of the rubbish pile by the entrance to the woods. Areas that have previously been, at most, damp, were more than soggy with standing or running water in some places where there was none before. It wasn’t all bad as the steam looked and sounded great with the extra flow. A couple of tasks on this visit were to tidy up the glade and attack some brambles. In the glade trees that had been felled were sawn to length and the logs stacked, the hardest part being moving 10 ft long trunks. Julie and Tom put the new brushcutter to use on some of the brambles that were growing near the path. We just got a cheapo Spear and Jackson one from Argos and its progress is slow but sure so far; easier than a machete or loppers, and cheaper (but of course less effective) than a professional machine. Another job later in the day was to push the car out of the mud.

A couple of weeks later and what was mud had mostly set hard and there was no standing water anywhere to be noticed. The sun was shining and the glade saw further tidying as piles of brash were burnt and some more logs moved to larger piles. While Tom did more debrambleficationing with the brushcutter. There were more anemones out, also primroses, violets and the first few bluebells showing their petals to the sun. The young trees are growing well and generally not getting eaten. Along the wayleave where we had in previous years seen 2 orchids, there were now about half a dozen starting to show through. Making the most of the sun shine (and the gap linking the glade to the field) we saw quite a few butterflies including a pair spiralling together.