Had a good morning this morning. Apart from Lowan getting me up at 03:30,
I decided that, as next week is my last week in work, i'd drop off the radar for a couple of hours and scout out the woods i've, sorry, we've been given permission to use just north of Cowbridge and the A48.
We have been given two woodlands to use by a very nice man called John who seems to own most of the land between Bridgend and Cardiff! I popped over to meet him and his land manager Mike; both very nice blokes who were thrilled to bit's with my proposition and then promptly blew it out of the water!
They said
NO to a user contract.
They said
NO to any sort of payment.
They said
NO to any notice needed to use the land.
John said 'The only thing i require is that you leave no litter, i hate litter, but you being Bushcrafters have this 'leave no trace' mentality so i've no worries there have i!' He also said that any rabbits, squirrels, whatever is in those woods we can have! Again he refuse my offer of a token payment and said he had to go to his Paintball buisness in the next woodland and left. Mike says he likes a good single Malt so i'm sure we can rustle that up between us. So, we have two woodlands we can use, for free, when ever we want, for as long as we want.
Had a mooch around the woods and found that the younger of the woods is on a hillside. Initially it is quite steep, however, as you get about two thirds up, it levels out and the top looks real nice. There's little sign that the kids in the nearby village have used it (did i mention there is a pub about 10 mins walk?) and the trails in it look like they only get used very occasionally. I saw fox and badger tracks in the moist mud as well.
The older of the two woods has been thinned out a couple of years ago by the look of it. If you wanted to hammock in it, you'd need a long rope and everything off the pathways is overgrown with more than it's fair share of brambles. On the poistive side, it too is on a hill but not as steep or high as the previous one.
In both woods there are dead standing and dead fallen as well as plenty of wood and branches lying about. I prefer the first wood. as much as the initial hike is a little steep, it does discourage casual passers by and the views from the top are stunning. As it is a youngish wood, the tree's are not as widely spread, nor as tall as to permit, say a large Tipi, but you'd have a job carting one up anyway. It's ideal for hammock, tarp or small tents and is secluded and quiet. It's begging to be used so i'm proposing a late October meet (yeah, i know we have'nt done September yet). What weekend is good for you guys?
