Don't forget your Wellies.

Roundball Wood has always been wet wood, but this year has seen it wetter than ever. Bad weather has stopped two of our wardens work days, but it has not stopped the many dog owners who use the wood and surrounding land to exercise their pets. Many times recently I have been in the woods and been greeted by a bounding Spaniel or Labrador, shortly followed by a mud splattered owner.  Many owners take their dogs down to the River Gissage at the end of their walk for a wash before they go home. Although I seem to get equally muddy, I have so far resisted the temptation of a dip in the Gissage.

As part of our work to make the wood more accessible the wardens have been building raised walkways. We have been coppicing some of the holly and cutting the main trunk in to short sections. We then lay the sections in the muddy parts and use them as a base for a raised walkway and hand rail. It seems to work well and is a reasonably priced solution to making the worst areas passable. We usually manage to lay 6 to 8 metres of walkway on a work morning, but have a way to go yet. It is also a way to recycle the coppiced holly and reduce the need to carry so much timber up the hill to the woods.

We are planning more work days later in the winter if the weather improves. In the mean time if you a thinking of a walk around the wood, don't forget your wellies.