Their craftsmanship is proudly on show in the two cabins: Dumbledore (an archaic word for bumblebee), where we stayed, and neighbouring Yaffle (green woodpecker). They have since built up a working community of artists, gardeners, woodworkers and designers who helped Dan create structures entirely from timber grown on site. So when we bought it, it had exactly what we needed: sweet chestnut coppice for the building frames, plus stands of beech, scots pine, douglas fir, cedar and giant sequoia.”ĭumbledore’s handcrafted interior. But then he reached 70 and wanted to sell. “It had been managed for 40 years by a forester who had always intended to plant to provide wood for a small building project. “Finding this place was a bit of a miracle,” says Dan, an architect and builder. Wilderness Wood is more of a community than a holiday retreat with a working community of artists, gardeners, woodworkers It was the only one that met their criteria for a small building project: woodland that could be managed sustainably, a mix of soft and hardwood timbers at the right age and a felling licence. Owners Emily Charkin and Dan Morrish looked at 125 woodland plots around UK before choosing this one in the village of Hadlow Down in 2014. Woodworking teacher Kent Thodsen exuded such wonderful Zen energy I regretted my decision not to join his class. On the Saturday morning the main hub was buzzing with families on two woodworking classes, local “members” walking and having fun in the forest, and volunteers helping out around the wood. Wilderness Wood is more of a community than a holiday retreat – its two cabins, campsite and shepherds’ huts are just a small part of the mix. (George loved it so much he’d reduced the pile of firewood logs in our cabin to kindling by the end of the weekend.) It was brilliant fun – the silent fall of the axe before the satisfying thwack as it meets the wood is at once exhilarating and meditative. Two hours and buckets of sweat later, we had run out of logs. How about chopping logs into firewood with a bloody great axe? That sounded more like it, so we signed up for a 30-minute taster session. I had George, my slightly reluctant 14-year-old son, in tow, so the idea of six hours patiently carving a spoon was never going to, erm, cut it. Lounging was certainly at the top of this townie’s list, until I was informed that guests on the 62-acre site in East Sussex are asked to contribute towards the maintenance and understanding of the woodland by joining a woodworking, woodblock printing or carving session, a tree walk or an outdoor qigong lesson. D on’t come to Wilderness Wood and expect to lounge around in your lovely cabin all weekend.
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