New Beginnings

So here it is, the first entry of what I hope will be a long and prosperous blog.

 

I aim to use this space to create a written and pictorial record of our woodland project as it progresses.  Mainly as a reminder to myself; so that in years to come I can look back and marvel about how far we have come. But also to share with you guys; my friends and family.  If I can spark any inspiration, imagination or even interest along the way-then that will be a bonus!

 

First things first; An Introduction to The Woodland Project.

 

The adventure began on the 3rd August 2012 when we purchased just over two acres of ancient woodland near our hometown of Wigan, England.

 

Having not been managed for the past 30 years, the area has been allowed to ramble along, with only mother nature as its' guide,  which is fine. However, we have a dream, a vision and this space seemed the perfect place to begin creating that dream. 

 

To give you some idea of what we have purchased, the land is bordered by a beautiful stretch of river; central to the space is a meadow of approximatley one acre (as you can see from the picture this was completely overgrown with Himalayan Balsam but that's another story!), bordered at each end by natural  woodland; mainly ash, too many sycamore, hawthorn, elder, some alder, a few splendid oaks, several silver birch, the odd willow, and some newer beech saplings. 

 

One final note for this post; I realise there is a time difference between the actual date and the date the blog is intended to cover.  Having only just started writing about the project I have lots of catching up to do to bring the blog up to date.  I could apologise for this confusion but I'm not going to; instead I will finish by saying thanks for taking the time to read this and please call back soon, there is a lot to look forward to!