The SWOG meeting at Hendall last month was well attended and despite the appalling weather  which was around us at the time, we somehow managed to stay reasonably dry!   A well positioned tarp and make shift Tea room proved to be in exactly the right place at the right time when the heavens opened to a torrential hail storm.

The day started with a demonstration of the ‘Iron Horse’.  This is the method of extraction  which Iain Turner, woodland manager to the Fern’s section of Hendall wood favours.  It is  a caterpillar tracked vehicle which despite it’s size, leaves very little disturbance to the ground and so  is ideal for the narrow, undulating and tightly turning tracks of this woodland.

Duncan then demonstrated his brush cutter, for ride and  glade  maintenance this is a real help as it will chew brambles and thick brush with ease.

It wasn’t just SWOG members that came along, this cheeky Roe Deer was checking us out and finding out what all the fuss was about!

As was  the resident owl!

Duncan then took us to the site of an old iron bloomery.  Nothing of the bloomery remains apart from copious amounts of slag covering the ground.  This area would once have been an important part of the high weald iron industry, these furnaces  would have been fuelled with charcoal made from the hornbeam which would once have been the predominant species of the woodland.  It was only later during the 18oo’s that the chestnut would have been planted to supply poles and fencing to the local farmers and hop growing industry in East Sussex and Kent.

We then crossed the Ghyll into the northern spur of the wood which Penny and I have been managing for the last few years.  Deer surround us here on the edge of Ashdown Forest in near plague proportions.  Temporary tenax deer fencing is really only a deterrent as if they are determined and hungry enough, they will eventually force their way in, either under or over.   I have been getting more proactive in my defences each year.  It’s quite depressing to have all your your lovely new coppice regrowth turned into a shrubbery.  Instead of burning the brash for this cant, I piled it all up on the outside of the Tenax netting.  This seems to have worked quite well, as they can not get under the netting, nor get close enough to jump it. I’ve also made some rudimentary defences over the tops of the gates which helps deter them from jumping them.

I didn’t quite get the chestnut bridge finished on time, but we only lost three members to the trolls which have taken up residence beneath it!

An 8 foot castellated cleft chestnut fence keeps deer out of Penny’s rose garden!

I’ve also been going to some effort managing some of the chestnut regrowth in this cant.  Selecting the stronger straighter poles and brashing off the side branches.  I’m thinking it would be good plan to cut these on a shorter 4 or 5 year rotation and use them for walking sticks or yurt and tipi poles.  It’s got to be easier than lugging around 8 foot gate posts!  I’ve also been layering over any lateral shoots to try and raise the density a bit.

Thanks to everyone who came along and made the meeting a success, and especially to Sheila who couldn’t make it around the wood, but was honorary tea lady and spoon carving exhibitor.