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"The Old Ways" - a book about footpaths and ancient tracks

“The Old Ways” – a book about footpaths and ancient tracks

by Angus, 4 July, 2013, 1 comments

Robert MacFarlane has written a great book which should appeal to anyone engaged with woodlands. A hundred years ago Edward Thomas wrote, "Much has been written of travel, far less of the road", and MacFarlane has here combined travel writing with route-writing, meandering along woodland paths and taking tracks over fields to explore how and why paths are as they are. There is a powerful section about George Borrow; an extraordinary walker-writer, whose work in the 19th century led to a surge in path following and old way romance: "the breeze on the face, the stars for a ceiling, the fire by the wayside, hedgerow philosophising, open journeyings." Read more...
How might 3D printing affect woodlands?

How might 3D printing affect woodlands?

by Angus, 20 June, 2013, 1 comments

My recent investment in a 3D printer was unusually adventurous but I wanted to know what three dimensional printing was all about.  The Solidoodle 3 machine is intended for home use and cost around £700, but the family has been getting its money's worth, running it most days and often at night-time. The software is free to download and there are hundreds of downloadable designs of things you can re-create on your Solidoodle 3 including mobile phone covers, cogs, propellers and models.  The gecko (pictured here) took about 20 minutes to print Read more...
Churchyard Scything with Austrian Scythes - and manual baling

Churchyard Scything with Austrian Scythes – and manual baling

by Angus, 9 June, 2013, 4 comments

Sion Jinkinson has two aims in life: to promote biodiversity and to keep traditional crafts alive. So scything old churchyards satisfies both objectives - these churchyards are often neglected habitats which are havens for wildlife and scything means the grass is cut unevenly and not too short. This is part of The North Wales Wildlife Trust's "Living Churchyards" project and has led to a way of baling up the cuttings into what Sion calls "Holy Hay Bales". Instead of relying on mechanised large-scale baling machines he uses a manual hay baler (as pictured below).  These are a sort of alternative technology which is now also adopted in Africa and plans for such balers are available on the internet. Read more...
Coppice and wood pasture.

Coppice and wood pasture.

by Lewis, 6 June, 2013, 1 comments

pollardAfter the last Ice Age, plants, animals and humans moved back into the vast areas vacated by the retreating ice.  Plant, and then, animal communities became established and much of the area was covered by what has been termed ‘wildwood’ – see previous Wildwood blogs.  These areas would also have been home to human populations migrating from the hinterland of Europe and Doggerland.  Communities developed and we may suppose that areas of forest/woodland/wild wood would have been cleared - for housing, the grazing of animals, to provide firewood/timber.  Such forest / woodland would have been managed to a greater or lesser degree. Read more...
From tree to bench

From tree to bench

by Dick, 15 May, 2013, 6 comments

Anyone who has visited one of our woodlands for sale in Devon or Cornwall will most likely have noticed, maybe even sat upon, one of the benches which are a particular feature in the woodlands that my colleague - Stuart Brooking and I,  prepare for sale. Until now, we have bought in the timber for making the benches, from local sawmills - who use only locally sourced materials. Recently though – through unfortunate circumstances in a way – we found ourselves with a ready supply of timber within our own woods, so we decided to go for a wholly DIY solution for our next batch of benches. Read more...
Charcoal, billhooks and blacksmiths

Charcoal, billhooks and blacksmiths

by Stuart Brooking, 8 May, 2013, 2 comments

Tom is 21 years of age and a skilled craftsman - a blacksmith. He has recently become a woodland owner (via woodlands.co.uk) by purchasing Raleigh Wood.  Raleigh Wood is situated on a sunny hillside with far reaching views of the valleys towards Dartmoor. His partner, Cara, is also a blacksmith and will be managing the woodland with Tom.   I asked him when they started the journey to their chosen career and how they ended up owning a woodland at such a young age. “Being younger is no barrier as you have more time, Read more...
Hedges revisited .......

Hedges revisited …….

by Chris, 2 May, 2013, 2 comments

The work of Max Hooper established that not all hedges are ‘equal’ – they vary considerably in terms of their age and composition.  Many thought of hedges as products of the Enclosure Acts of the C18th and C19th, that is, they were added to the landscape in these times - but many hedges / hedgerows (representing various boundaries) date back many centuries.  There are significant differences between truly ‘ancient’ hedges and those established in more recent times. Ancient hedges are generally species rich – in terms of the species in the herb, shrub and tree layers, and consequently rich in associated birds and insects.  Ancient hedges are often associated with natural features or boundaries Read more...
Biochar and biofuels

Biochar and biofuels

by Lewis, 20 April, 2013, 1 comments

Broadly speaking, Biochar is charcoal that is not used for heating, barbecues or blacksmithing.  It is charcoal that is (often) used for soil improvement and carbon sequestration. Charcoal is created by pyrolysis – that is, the incomplete burning of wood or biomass when oxygen /air is restricted. Typically, full-time charcoal producers have a large, steel kiln* about three metres in diameter and over a metre in height.  This is loaded up with wood, mostly hardwoods such as oak, which have a very slow burn. The kiln is then sealed with a large lid.  To make charcoal, the burn must be slow and incomplete so that the wood dries out and its structure and capacity for burning remains.  This process – converting wood to charcoal – takes some 14-16 hours and produces ready-to-use lumps of charcoal.  To watch the process of charcoal making, visit woodlands TV. Read more...

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