Forest Walks

Just been out with Rob, a forester at Kielder. He took me to an area of CCF - Continuous Cover Forestry - where they manage the forest for biodiversity and for public loveliness - three tiers of cover. The trees are often not able to withstand the wind if they aren't close together - there is not enough light for non-conifers - regeneration of natural woodland is a long process. Red squirrels are managing to eke out an existence in the forest - but not grey squirrels - it's the wrong type of woodland for them.  There are lots of deer in forest - all roe. Forestry England is managed by Forestry Commission. In 2010 the government were going to sell it off to commercial enterprises but there was a public outcry, so they backed off. Most of the forest is still commercial - a form of agriculture. Not harvested every year like grain crops, but every 40-50 years. They do it by clear felling. Rob drove me to a working area with machines and piled up logs. I didn't see a harvester w...

At Kielder Castle I wanted to visit the exhibition upstairs, but the room is full of men in suits sitting in rows. The boy in the cafe says they'll be out in twenty minutes. There's an interesting looking exhibition up there about the history of the forest, which I wanted to see, but instead I am here writing before I have anything to write about. I planned to write after I had seen it. Earlier we went for a walk. The forest is magical. Conifers and moss - so green and wet, so different from Tangham which I also love, but this is a different thing. It's a wet day. For most of our walk the rain was holding off, but mist was hanging over the trees. I'm repeating myself, but it really does feel like there's some other world under those trees. The forest is new, but the stories are forming. The magical beings are moving in. The giants can live here, moving the trees as though they were matchsticks. We went to the Skyspace - a circular building w...

The pod was a concession to Johnny as he hates camping. As was the huge blow up air bed. The problem was getting the airbed up inside the pod and there still being enough room for Wilf. Cosy. Definitely better for two than three. We've all been casting envious glances at the two mobile homes across the field. I could have booked one of them, only an extra twenty quid per night. I thought the pods looked cute, and I like camping so it seemed like a compromise. Of course, it is raining, so an actual tent would be miserable - hey ho! The guy who runs the campsite, Steve, is very chatty. Like, when we arrived and I went in to get the key I was so long that Johnny came to find out what had happened to me. The campsite is in the edge of the forest, trees crowding round. A walk along the river to the pub where they do cheap pub grub. Then across the road to Kielder Castle, cafe/exhibition space/forest headquarters. Day Two A walk along the la...