It’s been hard to find suitably dry days but yesterday was looking promising so an early start to avoid rush hour traffic got me there for 8.15am. Most of my winter visits have been about getting lots of work done before spring but this time I decided to make it a day to really enjoy and savour the spring growth that is now evident. Of course there would be jobs too, but mainly things that were small, not too strenous and things that will contribute to mine and visitors enjoyment of the place. So my list included assembling my mum’s refurbished garden bench, placing a rustic ladder, pimping my camp fire and trying out a new cooking device and transplanting a few plants.

The day started out very good, the sun was out, lots of birds singing and the woodland floor carpeted with green and white from the wood anemones. They have really taken advantage of the extra light in the areas where I cut back the bramble. I spent over an hour just walking around with cameras, having a really close look at the new growth, inspecting the trees I planted last year, listening to the many birds singing and just soaking in the peace and beauty of the place. Words can’t describe just how good it made me feel and how lucky to have this little piece of nature to enjoy. I was pleased to see the wild cherry trees I planted just over a year ago are doing well and have some gorgeous flowers on them.

And just look at how this area has been transformed from a month ago.


Remember me telling you about an ash tree with a U-shaped fork that I climbed and sat in? Well I wanted a small rustic ladder to climb into it and also for inspecting bird nest boxes. I made one at home from logs I brought back so I took it with me to try out. My wife said it looked like Fred Flintstone had made it. Well it works great and here it is.

Next job was to assemble the bench. This was my mum’s garden bench. It was in very poor condition, paint peeling and some rotten ends on the wooden slats but I wanted to save it and put it in the wood. I had stripped it down to it’s components, cut the rotten ends down, refitted the screw inserts and repainted and varnished it. I decided to put it in my camp/fire area. Although it makes the area look less bushcrafty than I would want, I decided that was where it would be most useful. I worked away in the sun, listening to the many birds around and spotted four buzzards circling overhead and it felt so good. I repositioned the existing plank bench and pimped my fire, so now the camp area looks much inviting and visitor friendly.

Just before lunch my lovely neighbour friends R. & L. arrived. They have a wood they share with another couple but have also decided to buy the small plot opposite the bottom of mine. I am so pleased for them and that I will have some new neighbours that I know and like. We had a look around the plot to see what we could find. It holds a lot of potential for them to work on and shape to their plans.

Lunchtime was approaching and my next job was to pimp my campfire. Until now it has been a plain and simple pile of ashes. I wanted to make a small enclosure around part of it and brought some pieces of marble and fire bricks from home. You can’t just put any old stones around a fire, some of them will explode as the moisture in them expands so that’s why I chose those materials. Secondly, my blacksmith friend Simon, had made me a fire crane. It consists of three steel pieces, an upright rod, an arm that has a hooked end to hang a billy can on and one that has a hoop to rest my skillet on. The arms have a curled end that slides onto the rod and can be moved up and down and sideways by relieving the weight from them first. The weight pushing down makes them jam against the rod and holds them in place again. The idea is you hang them over the fire and can adjust the height for temperature control or swing them sideways out of the fire. A neat idea and I wanted to try them out. I took some vege sausages and an egg and some bread to make my lunch. It worked a treat. The photos might explain the principle better.

The last jobs were to plant another small hazel and two wild rose saplings I grew from seed and to transplant a couple of clumps of wild garlic. The garlic only grows in two or three places at the southern end of the wood. I’m trying to increase plant diversity in the northern sycamore end to make it more interesting so the plan is to dig up a few established clumps and replant them where I think they might flourish, then hopefully, they will gradually increase in size and colonise those areas. I like this plant, it is lush and green when young and can be eaten. It’s an ancient woodland species too.

This visit has got to be amongst the best days out there. All the ingredients were right, sunny, warm, lots of birds, some satisfying jobs done. I didn’t want it to end.