Carr wood

A lush sea of greens, the carr woodland running along side the restored length of Avon Water above Wootton Bridge is something to behold. They exert an allure over you, the call of the primeval maybe. We know from environmental archaeology that this type of environment would've been well known to our prehistoric ancestors, a favoured landscape as rich source of resource opportunities. We also know that these wet places were sacred to our ancestors through the numerous ritually deposited artefacts and burials associated with them. I think I'm going to have to go for an explore.

Holmsley Bog

Where ever you look evidence of the success of the stream restoration program is clear to see. I regularly comment on how the slower transit of water through the Forests' waterways is changing the nature of its' streams and their environs; it's also invigorated their watersheds too, where the Forests' bogs and mires are looking healthy. Which is a good thing.  These are rare environments. The Forests' shallow valley wetlands represent 80% of those in Lowland England.

Spreads

The marshy regions where the forest's streams are born are known as 'spreads' or 'collects'; often out on the open heath and always amongst the stands muddled `carr woodland is present, especially where the streams first form proper. These always feel some of the wilder places in the forest, uncomfortable regions to navigate, wet, tangled and fraught with obstacles, fallen trunks and boot sucking quagmire; best avoided, though at the same time oozing with allure, their magic seems to draw you in. They represent an aspect of the timeless landscape of fairy tale and myth. Where do myths start, maybe it was an inherent magic that first led our prehistoric ancestors to favour these wet areas for ritual and ceremony; maybe how you experience such places is an echo of genetic memory, my ancestors reminding me of the sacred nature these places held in their world view. Maybe.

Dames Slough drain

It's not only the forest streams that have been restored to something like their pre-Victorian courses, the project has also included some of the larger drains, themselves originally small brooks and tributaries. Through Dames Slough enclosure, below Dames Slough Hill, what was another near straight drain now meanders gently between the stands as it would've 200 years ago...or maybe it was open wet heath back then? As a consequence, and like other restored forest watercourses, the trees in the direct environs are having to adjust to a much wetter environment; as with the other sites, some oak and beech handle it better than others, although eventually most, if not all, will drown, to be replaced by carr woodland species.

Knight Wood

The forest is full of magical hidden places, places that are a little off the beaten track, the places in-between, overlooked and rarely trodden. Places where you seldom, if ever, see others, and connection to woods and nature is easy. These are some of my favourite places, as they retain a certain something only felt, impossible to articulate. Above, a restored Warwickslade cutting meanders through the misty stands of Knight Wood; the restoration has resulted in the woodland slowly becoming waterlogged... it's welly country, and will only get wetter as the effects of restoration bed in. Knight Wood is unenclosed deciduous old forest, the oldest tracts being those of majestic veteran beech on the, slightly, higher ground, more recent the mature oaks through which Warwickslade cutting flows (they date somewhere in the 1800's, and drainage). Some of these oaks are not liking the wetter aspects of the restored landscape one bit, their broken limbs litter the woodland floor and several of the trees are looking rather peaky. Full restoration to bog woodland will be a long journey mind, it'll take decades for these oaks to be replaced by returning carr species. You know, I don't remember ever seeing another soul amongst these oaks, I'm sure there must be other visitors, and maybe they're thinking that they've never seen anybody here either.

The New Forest

When people think of the New Forest I'm sure it's of expansive woodlands, of which there are some 230 sq mi of broadleaved woodlands and enclosed mixed plantation, although there are also 59 sq mi of open grassland, heathland and wetland. The photo above is representative of much of the forests heathland, a mixture of dry heathland with pockets of wetland heath, wetland and carr woodland filling hollows in the undulating landscape. Many of the wetland heath areas are impassible, especially through the wet seasons, punctuated as they are by wetland proper, you'll often find yourself following the contours of the land, making a 5 minute walk as the crow flies, a 20 walk.  This view is of the lower reaches of Duck Hole and Duck Hole Bog taken from one of the Bronze Age Round Barrows which border Ferny Knap enclosure (one of the smaller enclosures 21 acres, enclosed 1843. Lovely morning.