What a great weekend

What a great weekend.  The weather was truly kind bright blue skies and crisp clear light.  I arrived at the woods on Friday afternoon.  The temperature was already cool but I had plenty of warn clothes and a lot of food.  Carrying the cooking gear to the site is never a pleasure but my new purchase made the portage of equipment a breeze.  I am now the proud owner of a fishing trolley.  It performed well from the mud and deep ruts of the paths leading deeper into the woodland, fortunately the campsite I chose to use this time was near the main entrance with a few standard Oaks and Ash with the majority of the woodland being made up with Hazel.  I was expecting the area to be really wet under foot.

The first task as the light began to fade was to erect my Arran 5.  My trusty tent has seen a lot of service yet it still performs perfectly and was worth cash.  Once the tent was up it was time to locate some decent dry wood for the fire.  Not such an easy task due to the rain and heavy dews we have been having in Sussex.  I didn’t want to just snap off lots of small dead twigs as this provides good habitat for invertebrates.

Once I had a decent pile of dry pencil thick twigs.  I gathered larger diameter wood.  It’s easy to be impatient when creating fire and having to run around and hunt wood madly as your fire dies from lack of fuel.  Bushcraft should teach one to slow down and accept natural rhythms.  It was now dark and cold but I cleared the ground carefully and to make sure I would leave a scar before building a platform of green sticks to shield the fire from the cold damp earth.  Once I had decent piles of wood neatly arranged around me I split some wood to reveal the dry core.  A couple of feather sticks later and a spark from my fire steel and I could site back and enjoy the glow of a fire well prepared.
There is something magical about being alone in large woodland as the night blankets you listening to the night sounds feeling the warmth of a fire keep the chill at bay.  There was a good chorus of Tawny owls making the presence known.  Behind me some Roe deer circled the camp keeping on the edge of mine view.  
The other members of the Forest Knights team were due to arrive shortly. It was hard to tear myself away from the campfire and make my way back through the mud to meet them.

Soon they were settled into the woods.  Steve being an adventurous spirit hand no bothered with a tent and used a lean to shelter.  He is made of stern stuff.  The evening passed quickly swapping stories of bushcraft adventures and planning future trips.
We were up early to a breakfast of sausages cooked over the fire.  What a great way to start the day.  The suns rays gave a dappled light and an eldritch quality to the woods.  a quick walk around the site to read the morning papers showed the Roe had passed near to the camp.
The day was spent walking around the site and making note of the condition of the trees.  Sadly 2 ash trees need to be felled to make the site safe fore camping.  The trunks are spilt and will eventually fail.  A large tree falling on you as you sleep would probably spoil your day.
Too many people wander through life without looking at their surroundings.  How many pitch a tent under a canopy without looking up at the widow maker above them?
The evening was spent chatting around the fire eating roast chestnuts and fruitcake whilst drinking mulled wine.  Fantastic.  Saturday night as definitely colder than the previous evening so we had to put more effort into collecting wood and making sure we chose wood that gave off plenty of heat without too much smoke.  Don’t select wood from the forest floor it is likely to be wet and half rotten.  Fungi and bacteria will have already consumed  most of the woods calorific value.