As I mentioned earlier these woods are being prepared for the arrival of European Bison and fences are being erected and the old ones being taken down. These older fences were from the previous era when Konic Ponies and Highland Cattle grazed in here. The enclosures for these had covered large areas and many woodland tracks I knew were shut off and inaccessible, shut off within the enclosures, and have been for about a decade.
Now these old fences are being removed as the new fence layout is installed. This provides the opportunity to re-walk old pathways I had not been along for 10 years. I have been enjoying re-discovering these paths and trying to match them to my original map. Today I set off along one of these forgotten paths into the interior of a section of woods I had not been in for so long. After several hundred yards the path dissolved and I was just walking through woods with no reference points at all. Large areas of bracken seemed to encroach from all sides. But in the end a series of fence posts emerged, no fence just the posts. This was a slight relief as things were getting dense and difficult to pass through. A machine/vehicle had passed through removing the wire and the enclosure edge was easy to follow. I knew if I followed these posts, I would come out somewhere I recognized eventually and sure enough I came out below the pylons. The bracken or is it Lady-Fern was really established combined with the brambles this fence corridor was the only way to navigate through the ‘interior’ there were no pathways at all. The sun was out and I enjoyed the colours and the early morning light. I was blissfully empty of thoughts just walking in a green and golden natural cathedral really.
Then it all went horribly wrong!
I have walked near enough every day for over fifteen years in West Blean and Thornden Woods with two different dogs and I have ridden my mountain bike with friends and explored these woods before the Highland Cattle and Konic Ponies were first introduced in 2010. I helped create the Wildart Sculpture Trail with the Kent Wildlife Trust and created illustration and interpretation panels here, made art, maps and written blogs about these woods and they have played a huge role in my life. I am sure I have changed over this period of time, as have the woods and there are further important changes ahead as the Wilder Blean Project is implemented which will impact heavily on my relationship to these woods.
Back in the year 2008 I drew a map of these woods as I remembered them from riding my mountain bike there with friends most weekends. The woods back then I had heard were an asset within the Midland Bank (HSBC) pension scheme and had been for many years.
My map shows the woods before The Kent Wildlife Trust were awarded lottery funds to own and manage these woods and implement the enclosures for grazing.
At the time I was interested in recording the different paths and landmarks in the woods. I am really glad I took the trouble to create it, as it records the wood before its current owner and subsequent changes. It was all created from memory and scale and proportion taking a back seat over place identification. Rather reminiscent of the medieval Gough Map http://www.goughmap.org/ where perimeter information is missing.
It has become ever harder to walk in these woods for several reasons, and today I found parking my car difficult. We parked some distance down the approach road and followed a signed footpath which took us across the back of a residential property, with prominent dog on the loose signs on the boundary fence. We then walked diagonally across two muddy fields into the woods to join the path I had originally wanted. I noticed lots of particularly large chamomile flowers around the edge and on the footpath across this field which I could not avoid walking on.
When we reached the woods the pathway has been significantly widened, trees cut down and a corridor made, this will be for the new perimeter fencing. I noticed there are several new ponds being dug and this area is one of the lowest points of the wood and stays very wet and partially flooded during the winter. This particular pond looks like it has been made to feature a solitary dead tree on an island in the middle. The area feels quite landscaped and with the colours turning it’s a nice spot (or will be). This is right on the perimeter of the wood and will be a section housing the new Bison.
The Wilder Blean Project will introduce large herbivores onto the site which include European Bison as the headline act, along with Long Horn Cattle and Ponies and Iron Age Pigs. This experiment is happening a mile or two away from where I live in a place I know really well, which is great as I am interested in the whole topic of rewilding or wilding whatever phrase you use. I have read about it and even visited the Knepp Wildland a pioneer rewilding project in West Sussex which has been established for perhaps 15-20 years.
But here’s the thing, me and Fred my Irish Terrier will have to find pastures new to run free off the lead. So, you see it is goodbye to our early morning woodland explorations together in Thornden Woods. This journal will record something of our final walks together during the lead in period to these animals being introduced.
