Woodlife

There are two woods I currently frequent. One is called Lowt’s Wood and the other Airfield Wood. The latter is a local name. Lowt’s wood (entrance to which is pictured in the first post) is part of a formal nature trail, although there seems very little maintenance of the wood. I’ve only visited this wood a couple of times, but I have noticed that at the far east of the wood there’s a badger set. It takes me about 6 or 7 mins to get there in the car. After parking up, there’s a walk along a public footpath that follows a hedgerow for about 5 mins before entering the woods themselves. More about this wood later.

The other wood is very local is just a quick bike ride away, although I take the car to save time. This wood is on private land and I’m able to use this wood to practice bushcraft as there are very few visitors. The wood is quite small and split into two halves; West wood and East wood. The only occupants appear to be crows and rooks, who have built a substantial rookery in the canopies if West wood, and the occasional rabbit. This wood tends to be very damp while the East wood is far dryer. Both the woods are deciduous woodland and in the following entries, I’ll try to describe the flora and fauna in more detail.

The picture shows a rest stop in East wood where I’ve chosen to practice bushcraft. At the moment, I’ve just used the space between the two trees to sit, ponder, and write a couple of journal entries. I’ve also drawn a rough map of the area in the hard copy journal.

Today’s walk in East wood brought me into contact with what I think is tinder fungus. I cut a piece in half and set fire to it with a lighter. It smouldered very well, but did not catch.

I’ll confirm exactly what it is in the next post. I’ve never really bothered with identifying fungus before, but I understand that this fungus is good for fire making. Cut my thumb though using my newly purchased Frosts Clipper knife. I even looked around to see if anyone was watching! At the moment I feel like a true beginner and it will take me a bit before I’m comfortable doing this again.

My trip today ended about 3pm. It was a beautiful couple of hours in the woods and I enjoyed the peace and quiet. The sun was out and the temp was about 7 deg C. It was starting to turn colder by the time I left. I seemed alone in the wood. Apart from a few bird-calls from blackbirds, the woods were still.

P.S. Thanks to the people on BCUK I’ve identified the fungus as Cramp Balls or King Alfred’s Cakes (Daldinia concentrica) it’s most commonly found on Ash trees or Oak. I’ve now confirmed it by referring to http://www.rogersmushrooms.com/ It smolders very well when lit and I’ve been advised that small shavings with other tinder will fire up well.