Duke’s Wood in Eakring, Nottingham used to be an oilfield in the 1940s. Americans were secretly brought in and produced 60,150 tons of crude oil in one year for the war effort. It is now a much recovered nature reserve managed by the Wildlife Trust.
The opening weekend of the Duke’s Wood Project was a memorable event. Highlights were the singing of Hanna Tuulikki and the poetry of Alec Finlay and Amy Cutler outside the Bower.
The Bower is a humble open-fronted dwelling built from material collected in the wood. When the poets had finished, Paula stated that she wanted to spend a night in the Bower and was told she could. Her enthusiasm was infectious and before I knew it, I’d invited myself to accompany her. After booking ourselves in, I admitted I had never been camping before!
The night arrived and we were back at Duke’s Wood collecting the keys for the museum from the curator. Only after he left, did we discover that there was no water in the taps! Never mind, this would be basic but we would manage.
Thankfully Paula is a seasoned camper. She had all the cooking equipment and soon had the kettle on. I pulled a neat trick out of the bag with some hot jacket pototoes I’d made earlier. The owls start tu-whit tu-whooing and it’s pitch black by 9pm.
We were worried how cold it might be and I completely overdid the thermals. My socks were so thick I had a job getting into the sleeping bag! I was glad of the hat though.
Eventually I settle down and hope I don’t have to get out before morning … very enjoyable listening to the sounds of the night and the strange accoustics of the nearby wind turbines. Now I know where electronic band Surfacing got their inspiration from. I hear the same sounds that they had played to us the week before all through the night.
At home I hear the sound of the M1 at night and translate it into a noisy river. At quieter times before dawn it seems like classical music.
By midnight the music in the wood builds up into a cacophony of noise. The wind is roaring around us through the trees like a train. It’s as though we have surround sound. That’s the oddest part. I realised I’d only heard sounds through a window before. It felt like I had been missing something. The Bower withstood all this with ease, there was not even a rustle from it.
Apart from the odd bough snapping and creaking, outside the night passes without disturbance until an almighty screech wrenches us from sleep. An owl is on a nearby tree and is urgently calling for its partner who doesn’t reply.
We had also heard shooting in the far distance but I’m certain the badgers were safe for the night in our wood. I would do it again!
