I have always treasured time walking in woods and enjoying the escape, the peace, and watching and hearing nature everywhere: kicking through the thick fallen leaves in autumn; smelling the bluebells in spring; and listening to the bird song. I love seeing my dog scurrying around looking for the latest adventure at any time of the year.
My father has always been a big supporter of the Woodland Trust, and I remember many a weekend when I would escape from the big smoke and spend time with him walking in woodland and hunting down ancient Oaks. With his tape measure he would measure the girth of the tree and quickly calculate the trees age. It was this inspiration that led to him giving me an early birthday present of 100 trees to create our own coppice wood.
Now I’m really excited to have planted my own little wood with a mix of 100 trees happily dug in to the corner of our field. The Woodland Trust’s tree pack called ‘Working Wood’ included a mix of Wild Cherry, Silver Birch, Field Maple, Common Oak, Rowan and Grey Willow. It will take many years for these tiny saplings to grow and even longer for the Oaks to grow into towering trees, but hopefully within the next 5 years they’ll burst out of their protective tubes and announce themselves to the world.
Last year, our B&B guests enjoyed our meadow walk, a seasonal path that meandered through 15 different wild grasses, and they hung out in our hammocks nestled in our circle of Copper Beech trees. Looking ahead, as the years go by, they will also be able to enjoy our copse in the corner with its hidden glen.
The Woodland Trust want to see a UK rich in native woods and trees and have an ambitious aim of planting 64 million trees over the next ten years. Ours is a small twig in that forest but no less exciting for Bewl Rookery!
100 mixed trees planted in November to create a copse in the corner of our field
