A Walk in the Woods.

Today there were more clouds and stronger winds whipping up the waves and blowing a passing flock of jackdaws around. The visiting yacht spent the night moored up by the beach and left, using their motor, this morning.

Peter wasn't rowing this morning but was keen to see how other members of the club coped with conditions that could only be described as bibbly bobbly (genuine rowing term).

Despite my usual friend, Google Street View, stopping at the main road I thought I'd take a chance at finding the location of today's walk from the information I had. My guess proved correct and after half a mile the road I'd taken led me to this stony track at the end of which was an ample parking space. One other car was there so I knew I'd found the right place which was a relief. Better than trying to explain why I was parked in an unknown farmer's yard.

Until recently our host had run a saw mill and general woodworking yard there as well as educational activities. All the outbuildings were beautifully crafted and meticulously tidy. However I don't feel comfortable taking photographs of someone's home or putting them on a public blog. Instead I stuck to photos of the woods which were wonderful too.

Gentle streams flowed through the woods. Even this early in the year there are concerns everywhere about the lack of water both in private wells and in the reservoirs such as Nant Y Moch that supply water to towns and villages. Only yesterday a house burned down in the neighbouring village and though the fire brigade came they soon ran out of water and more water had to be brought in in bowsers from Aber. Something to think about as we bask in the current spell of warm weather.

The woods are managed as a natural mixed woodland and there are parts which are wild-life only with well worn badger paths.

There are a few stands of pine trees grown for timber but instead of cutting the whole lot down when they reach 60-70ft and replanting to start again our host explained about halo pruning. This is where the trees are thinned to allow light to the forest floor which then leads to self sown seedlings and eventaully a sustainable mixed age plantation. We were asked to avoid treading on the tiny pine and oak seedlings coming up through the leaf litter.

We walked in a loop around the woods and returned to this bonfire space to eat our lunch.

Nearby were two structures housing pole-lathes, a method of wood turning using a rope, foot pedal and long pole that has been used at least as far back as Viking times. (I did ask and got the okay to show these photos.)   

After a longer than usual lunch break we left the woods and climbed up the hill for some far reaching views.

The May blossom (hawthorn) is out giving some hedgerows a strangely formal look. From there we made our way back to the woods and our hosts' home where we had tea in the garden. They have lived there for decades and the garden was just lovely. The sort of garden and behind the house veg plots where self-sown plants have been left to flourish creating an informal and colourful garden. But that wasn't all, beyond was a woodland garden. With towering trees on the hillside above and verdant grasslands below the garden paths were bordered by every flowering shrub imaginable from azaleas and weigelias to kiwi fruit (enormous plants that never produced fruit) and acers. In the cottage garden by the house were a number of fig trees already covered in large green fruit. It was obvious that many years of loving care had gone into both the the garden and woodland. To top it off I and several others came away with clumps of Blue Eyed Grass (sisyrinchium angustifolium) and a white form which should survive in my garden. Another excellent walk and tea in good company.

Sunset last night. It was much hazier tonight with the sun going down in a brief blur of pink.