The edge of Rhinefield Sandy's

Our roam this morning was perfect. Our route along the edge of Rhinefield Sandy's, following the ridge of the Uber valley gave us splendid views of the snaking course of Uber Water and it's environs. You can always find something of beauty in the forest, though on some days the entire forest is simply beauty writ large. My photo doesn't do the scene justice, the light and shadow, the depth of greens, the textures of the flora, let alone smells and sounds of early doors. Nobody about either, the forest was ours, an ideal opportunity for connecting to the forest and a meditative walk. An opportunity I took full advantage of.

Why can't we have nice things?

 

Why can't we have nice things? The answer is simple, we're arsehats. Over half a mile from parking, in a lovely section of Rhinefield Sandys, a carrier bag worth of mixed shite scattered amongst the stands; bottles, cans, various packaging, sites of two unsuccessful attempts at fires, even quite a substantial lounger. We can agree, arsehats. I reckoned the lounger was half inched from the swanky Rhinefield House about 500 meters east; a cursory scan of their page confirmed, yes, it is indeed one of their loungers! It crossed my mind this could be the work of privileged arsehats, an insidious cohort of arsehat, too often overlooked by the media class in favour of their sustained assault on the disadvantaged. Of course, an arsehat is an arsehat. I believe though that connecting younglings to nature from an early age would go a long way to helping, you're less likely to shit on something you've developed an emotional bond with. Anyway, behaviour like this is why we can't have nice things.

Here comes the Sun

 

At the slightest hint of any Sun, no matter how fleeting, the Wood Ants (Formica rufa) are out and active. A good sized nest can house upwards of 250,000 ants, and I can't imagine how many nersts in the forest, there must be hundreds of millions, if not billions of Wood Ants out there. That's quite a thought.

Black Water

 

This stretch of Black Water above Gravelly Ford has always been a favourite of mine. Before they deer fenced a large portion Rhinefields Sandys, we'd regularly  park in the old car park on the ridge a wander hereabouts. Our walks often taking in both Ober Water and Black Water, and the mosaic stands of Rhinefields Sandys enclosure running between the two. It was good walking. Still is. Although as you'd imagine, the imposition of a large chunk of the enclosure being securely fenced and inaccessible really affects your roam.

Winter solstice sunrise

The pre-dawn sky offered the potential of a glorious Winter Solstice sunrise, though the clouds had other plans. At the appointed moment curtains of grey cloud drew closed. Still I marked the notional sunrise by taking a moment and reciting some words, then resolved to make our a walk a solstice mediation. About 10 minutes later as we made our way down from Holm Hill towards Rhinefield Sandy's the sun did make a bright though fleeting appearance before retiring behind the wall of cloud again. Still, it's always nice being out in the forest early doors.

Duck Hole

The view across Duckhole Bog, with Ferny Knap then Rhinefield Sandys' beyond.

Quiet time

The best thing about the A35 being closed is the tranquillity it brings to the surrounding countryside. I've sat here on the banks of Black Water below the A35 countless times over the years, it's a favoured spot; I've boiled up a brew, taken a picnic, meditated, or simply taken the opportunity to appreciate the woodland whilst being serenaded by the stream as it negotiates it's meandering course. Usually this spot is far enough from the road to muffle the sounds of traffic, but not far enough to negate it completely; today though for the first time, I had the opportunity to hear the forest's song as nature intended. Bliss.

Rhinefield Sandy's

I love the stretch of open, mainly birch, woodland that borders Rhinefield Sandy's along the low ridge above Ober Water; I've watched it grow and develop...it's the only part accessible of an old roam. Rhinefield Sandy's used to be a regular walk of ours, and a much loved one, it's where our eldest said his first word...tree. Though for over 20 years now it's been inaccessible, surrounded by 8ft deer fencing and locked gates as part of some forest project I suspect. The woodland fringe's position overlooking the river and good cover makes it a great spot to watch deer from, especially of an evening when they gather to drink. As I pass I often wonder when the deer fencing will come down and our roam restored.

Black Water ford

You'd be surprised at how high Black Water has risen, I know I was. Of course I'd expected to get wet, earlier I'd been shin deep crossing Ober Water, though when I found myself less than a quarter of the way through and already thigh deep, with Geoff on his lead, swimming next to me, I realised I was literally getting out of my depth. It would have been unnecessary folly to have continued, and one of the prime directives of survival is no unnecessary folly.

Forest magic

Forest magic.

Ober Water

The forest has been dry this winter, but for a handful of occasions we've been able to cross the forests streams without undue drama, although not today, today was how the forest should have been for most of the last couple of months. Between the higher dry ground of Ferny Knap and Rhinefield Sandy's, Ober Water flows through low wet grassland and heath. Usually a narrow stream when engorged as this morning the waters spill out, filling a myriad of former channels, creating a formidable obstacle. Crossing Ober Water was a bit of a kerfuffle today.

Rhinefield Sandy's

Rhinefield Sandy's enclosure has been fenced off for years now (some forestry project or other), high deer proof fencing making it an isolated island immune to deer or pony assault. You can see the difference too, it must be 20 years now, and the under-story is thick and impenetrable in places. With no public access either, no humans has also meant that, but for the main forestry track, the paths have all but been reclaimed by the forest. This used to be favoured walking of ours, and it was on this path that our eldest said his first word 'tree'. Over the intervening years I've scaled the fencing on several occasions and explored the undisturbed stands, watching the changes and wondering when the fences will come down and access restored. 

Pigs still doing their thing

It must have been a really good year for acorns, as Pannage continues into December.  Nowadays there are handfuls of pigs out at pannage during the season, a couple of hundred or so in all, though in the 1800's the number would have been in excess of 5000. Imagine what that would have been like. Makes think what the forest must have been like in those days.  

Old ways

We'd not walked along Black Water, between Black Water Bridge and the Vinney Ridge ford, for an age.  It's section of stream which had never been straightened and has a wild feel to it; its woodland environs are dense with flora in the summer and waterlogged during the winter, making it hard to traverse.  Even this early in the season the woodland is tricky.  Below the ford Black Water used to be a straight drain, turning into Fletchers Water at the Rhinefield Bridge, another straight drain, a really straight drain, though about a decade ago they began remodelling sections of it.  Now, some years on, they've completely remodelled the stream from the Vinney Ridge ford all the way to Highland Water. I'd say it's the most remodelled stream in the forest to date (as the stream above Black Water Bridge all the way to its upper reaches has been restored), and for the most part it looks better for it. Now it meanders again, following through its older course, and like the other restored streams in the forest it's a considerably more diverse environment. It'll take some years more before it completely naturalises, and the stream side paths consolidate. A lovely bit of the forest.

Rhinefields Sandys

The chain on the gate into Rhinefields Sandys is still undone, so I took the opportunity for another explore. Rhinefields Sandys was enclosed maybe 15 years ago and surrounded by a 2.5m deer fence, in some forestry project or such. The first thing I noticed on entering the woods was the abundance of saplings and low hanging foliage, the woodland was so dense and verdant. Something that's increasingly rare in other areas of the forest exposed as they are to over grazing by deer and ponies.

Rhinefields Sandys

Walking near Rhinefields Sandy's enclosure I noticed the gate was open, and couldn't resist going in. Rhinefields Sandy's was a place we used to enjoy walking, it's one of the places we walked our older children when they were young, it was the place our eldest said his first word, on a chilly winters day, with the winds swaying the coniferous canopy, he said 'tree'. Not too many years later the woodland was enclosed by 3m high deer fencing and the access gates locked, and so it has been for over fifteen years. I think they'd been doing some thinning out and forgotten to close up. Whatever the reason, I enjoyed the access. The main path remained quite clear, narrowed by encroaching growth, but clear. Whereas some of the other paths had all nut disappeared, like the one in the picture, which used to be a broad forestry track, though now is hardly recognizable. Nature will regain her dominance quickly if left to her own devices. It was nice to walk there again.