Chicken tree

This year continues to be a bumper year for Chicken of the Woods (Laetiporus sulphureus).

Corduroy roads

 

To aid the winter traveller, and by the good works of fellow ramblers, the forest has been furnished with numerous Corduroy roads. Trackways of log and bough through marshy terrain and boggy woodland. Always a welcome sight, these saviours of many a route through the wet season come in many shapes and sizes, not all though are as uniform and well presented as this fine example.

1825

On the Allum Green side of Bramble Hill we came across another piece of early 19th century graffiti, this time even earlier than the '1850' I found a few days ago, and this one I'm more certain about. The piece, although stretched by time, clearly reads '1825'. The only figure that I pondered over was the 2, which I thought could've, could have, been a stylized 7? Although the more I looked, and the more I look, it's surely a unevenly stretched 2. Nice find.

Battered Bramble Hill

When slighted by the elements, many of the forest's trees simply fall to the ground, making the stand against time and the elements from there, whilst others are more obstinate, forming dramatic shapes amongst the stands, determined not to be completely humbled. I love these trees for their defiance, their outlines add something to the stands, they're natural sculptures expressing the eternal elemental struggle, rallying the other trees to hold fast. 

Grace under pressure.

Over the last 10/15 years the forest has become noticeably busier. I can remember when on a weekday most parking spots would have been empty and you could go for days, or even weeks, without seeing other walkers whilst out. Both those things are a rarity now (unless you walk off piste, so to speak); it's the marketing of the forest over the last few years which is responsible. I was chatting with a ranger and they remarked that government had encouraged the National Parks Authority to increase usage to promote health and well being, and this was putting pressure National Parks Authority and the forest, and both were struggling. More footfall means more wear and tear, more maintenance of all sorts. Which maybe ties into another thing noticeable about the forest over the last decade or so, that's a subtle reduction in accessibility. I've seen several small bridges removed rather than replaced, and countless gates and stiles disappear, reducing routes across the landscape and forcing more feet onto fewer tracks. The National Parks Authority just hasn't got the resources to maintain everything, it's another example of the government trying to get something for nothing, rinsing a natural resource to make them look like they're doing something. I can't help but wonder (and worry, if I'm honest) how the forest will cope with ever increasing visitors numbers, coupled with under funding from government and the removal of the EU grants which helped fund many of the National Park's projects.