Timber! (The challenge of change)

This world that we live in is hectic and one of the best things about getting out for a walk is feeling  that busyness and stress fall away as we reconnect with the living world.  Sometimes it's good to take some time out to just sit and be - it's amazing how your mind can work through things when it's given time and space.  Places where you can 'just be' become very precious. I have a couple of such places within the National Forest - one of them is in under the great old oak within our own piece of woodland.  A magic spot and one which I feel privileged to be guardian of - nature changes this space with the seasons and over time but it is a constant in my life,

My other special place however is within a site that belongs to someone else - Feanedock Wood in the Ashby Woulds.  It's a very quiet spot normally but 2018 is going to be a big year for Feanedock Wood.  People will be coming - lots of people. Changes will be made - big changes, I think.  It's scary, I'm struggling with it.  It is for a good reason (I think), but it's still scary!

So why is this place special and what is happening to it?

Way back in 2009 at the National Forest Wood Fair there was something called the 'One Oak Project'.  It demonstrated how many different things can be made from just one oak tree and one of the beautiful articles made was a bench - the One Oak Bench.  After the event this bench found a home within Feanedock Wood and I came across it while walking the dogs one day.  It's tucked away under the trees and in the summer the vegetation grows up, it seems hidden and forgotten.  Find it brought back happy memories - a sunny day at Beacon Hill discovering green woodworkers and basket weaving, browsing old tools and generally enjoying all things 'woodly'.  Discovering the bench in such a wonderful, quiet, spot made it seem like it had been put there especially for me to visit whenever I wanted to relive those memories and visit it I have - many times over the years.

The National Forest Wood Fair ceased to be a while ago and for the last few years we've not really had any kind of event to celebrate the wonders of our forest but that's where the change comes in.  On the 6th/7th/8th July 2018 there is to be a new event - Timber, a 3 day festival which is a joint venture between the National Forest Company and Wild Rumpus (a social enterprise specialising in producing large scale outdoor family events) - and it's all happening at Feanedock Wood.  Now a 3 day festival celebrating the forest sounds fantastic so I was excited when I heard, but what of the One Oak Bench?  Well I'm told that it is staying where it is so I guess I won't lose it, I'll just have to learn to share maybe.

Feanedock Wood will see changes I am sure to enable it to host such an event.  We visited between Christmas and New Year and it was already evident that the meadow area was looking a lot more 'manicured' than usual for this time of year while the path through the older woodland seemed wider and a small clearing had been made part way along.  Being more managed did mean that the paths were easier to walk on, it remained lovely and we still had the place to ourselves.  It'll be interesting to see what the coming months bring in terms of changes to Feanedock - parking and access will have to be sorted I am sure and I wonder if that will bring long term benefits in terms of accessibility and paths? 

What will Timber be like as a festival?  The idea is certainly exciting and it will hopefully mean that more people get to enjoy the National Forest - I'll certainly be watching out for more news of the event and to see what happens at Feanedock over months ahead.

There is, I guess, a kind of poetry in the One Oak Bench, which was born out of an event, once again finding itself surrounded by people enjoying themselves and discovering the forest.

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Savouring the quietness of Feanedock