Sneaky deer

 

I've not heard a stag roar for a while now, the rut must be coming to an end. As a consequence the groups of deer are beginning to dissipate. We disturbed a large group of Fallow Deer as we headed up from Bratley Water towards Bratley enclosure. They clocked our approach and quickly scattered; a few minutes later I spotted two of the stags back to back hidden amongst the browning bracken and scrub, a good defensive arrangement.

Bubbles

Bubbles emerging from beneath a stone on the bed of Bratley Water; the bubbles appearing near continually. I sat watching for quite a while, most peculiar. I wondered by what mechanism this was happening. I pretty quickly ruled out something hiding under the rock, just upstream there's a shallow waterfall and all I came up with was air being forced via the waterfall through root casts or similar. 

Frosty fringe

You know it must be cold out when the fringes of higher reaches of the forests' streams remain frosted well into the day. The forest streams are a favourite roam of ours, I particularly enjoy wandering their wilder head waters. This morning it was the Smoky Hole section of Bratley Water, thicket flanked, boggy and wild, walking these upper stretches of stream always feels like walking back into the wild wood.

Icicle falls

Our route this morning took us along the narrow meanderings of Bratley Water  as it snakes it's way through North Oakley and Smokey Hole before joining Blackersford Brook; I love the young forest streams, there's a particular feel of wilderness to them that I enjoy.  As I said yesterday, winter's far from done and that's nowhere more apparent that out here in the forest where Jack still reigns supreme. In places the puddle ice remains 30/40mm thick, even the edges and deeper pools in the meander bends retain a thin icy frosting, and where woodland debris congregates to form natural dams those dams are turned into sculptures of ice and icicle. Very nice too.

Bratley Water

Looking over Bratley Water towards Bolderwood from Bushy Bratley.

Bratley Water

 

Up on Ocknell Plain, just beyond the end of the old Stoney Cross airfield, multiple small rivulets flow into Slufters Bottom and Bratley Water is born; eventually Bratley, after a couple of name changes will merge with Highland water to become the Lymington River emptying into the Solent.  A few years back much of Slufters enclosure's conifers were harvested exposing the pre-existing deciduous core through which Bratley Water runs, and returning most of the surrounding landscape to open heath. At that time Bratley Water itself was restored to a more pleasing natural meander, and it's a real transformation...a positive one. Slufters conifers choked the infant stream and it's deciduous environs, as well as obscuring long views across the forest from all directions. I'm still taken by the restored vistas when in this part of the forest, and am enjoying the slow re-naturalizing of Slufters Bottom. 

Bratley Arch

Bratley Water is one of the upper tributaries of the Lymington River, here at Bratley Arch it's still young having only formed a mile or so north in Slufters Bottom. The Slufters Bottom catchment area is a finger of broad valley sticking into Ocknell Plain, and when it rains heavily the run off causes the the valley bottom flood and the waters surge. Through Bratley Bottom these surges create multiple narrow competing channels through the trees and carr, each cutting through the underlying clays and exposing the tangled roots of trees as they go. As the waters recede first two then one channel will survive, the others will wait their time to be or their time has been and they'll begin to fill. The valley bottom is scared all over by centuries of these transient waterways. 

Hollow

Even though time and life have hollowed out this veteran Beech, it still puts on a good show. For all intents and purposes viewed from most angles this tree looks rock solid and in perfect health, though it is but a shell of itself. It's not uncommon to approach a veteran or ancient tree unaware that what you're looking at is only half a tree, and often less than that. Nature's wonderful, her determination and endurance are inspirational.

Solstice walk

From the depth of Winters cold embrace.
Between the horns of the moon we glimpse an infants face.
Tis the birth of the new Sun.
Giving us hope of a Summer to come.

Out in the forest for a Solstice walk, it had to be somewhere that really channels the forest's spirit, for me there are several places in the forest which do that, though none more so than Bratley Wood. Bratley Wood is surely one of the forest most beautiful woods, ancient and open it has vistas that steal your breath away and touch your spirit. So beautiful, man. Majestic wooden behemoths hold the land and reach for the sky, amongst the stands today deer and pony graze, whilst an inordinate number of tiny birds moved erratically through the maze of fallen trunk and bough. You see, the open aspect of the woodland which makes it so endearing, also, sadly, makes the woodland vulnerable to the elements, elements which in recent years have wrought destruction. It started in '87 when the Great Storm knocked chunks out of the stands, the holes left in the canopy allowed for more destruction, and so on, and so on. This has certainly accelerated over recent years, as the winds have increased in severity and frequency. Very sad, man, the mass of fallen trees, smashed and scattered, gives the woodland a melancholic edge.  Though it's beauty still endures and shines through. Anyways.

Solstice blessings y'all beautiful people. We hope the birth of the new sun brings in abundance flags, flax, fodder, frigg and all else you need and desire for the coming cycle, and may this cycle be more radiant than the last.

Bratley Wood

I never forget how lucky we are living as we do in such a fantastically diverse party of England. At the weekend we were walking the world heritage landscape of the isle of Purbeck to our west, the area of outstanding natural beauty of Cranborne Chase is within easy access to our north, and of course, the wonder which is the New Forest stretching to our east, on our very doorstep. A golden triangle of landscapes.  Today we were roaming the open woodland of Bratley Wood in the New Forest, an area of woodland pre-dating enclosure and filled with ancient pollarded Beech and Oak, venerable leviathans. The woodland is more open now, as over the last 30 years old trees have succumbed to the elements; there are rotted hulks scattered here which were felled in the Great Storm of '87. It's wonderful walking. Bratley's towering trees of ancient date have a majesty unlike any of the other forest woodland. That's a thing about the forest woodland, although usually a mix of similar species and often within a similar age range, each has a unique air and quality. Bratley is one of those with a timeless quality. Amongst the wooded fringes which flank Bratley Water (which flows below Brately Wood) I disturbed a resting stag, who startled, rose, barked and watched me intently.  We stood watching each other for a few minutes, he'd occasionally bark and I'd reply, he'd stamp a foot and I'd do the same...stalemate.  Eventually, we'd both had enough, and went our separate ways. It was an interesting interaction, though I fear I'm no Doolittle. Shortly after I found a shed antler bathed in Autumn sun, lying ready for me to find. Dropped amongst the thin straight trunks of a Beech and Birch block (one of several) planted some years back to fill the holes in Bratley's canopy.  There was a lot of deer activity in the woods today.  A lot of energy in the woods all round.

Fletchers Water, new bridge

The lower section of Black Water (from the ford at Vinney Ridge) and the whole extent of Fletchers Water from the Ornamental Drive to where it joins Highland Water, is the most extensively restored water course in the forest. Fletchers Water was previously one of the straightest sections of stream in the forest, bare gavel and scoured sides. Now though it winds and meanders, with it's environs showing increased biodiversity by the year. It's source is right up in the northern part of the forest around Stoney Cross, and changes it's name several times on it's journey (Bratley Water, Blackensford Brook, Black Water and finally Fletchers Water or Brook). It's possibly the longest stream in the forest, with many tributaries and subsequently carries a huge volume of water from an extensive area of the forest in the wet season. Just beyond Fletchers Thorns there has been a ford which has been impassible (even to wading) through most of the wet season (something you needed to factor in on any walk during that season, as when impassible it required a lengthy diversion), though since my last foray this way, a splendid new bridge has been built which alleviates that need.  A nice sympathetic design too.