Monday, April 09, 2012

A Bench in the Woods

I have been working with the Woodland Trust in Dolebury Warren, making a path that takes people off the main drives, giving fresh views of the beautiful old woodland.

We created a lookout site, and I was commissioned to make a bench for walkers to sit and take in the view.

I find it hugely satisfying to walk through the wood looking for suitable trees to work with - straight, and the right size. Ash is the common stock in the Warren. I try to remember to apologise to the tree for cutting it, and remember that her kind will benefit in turn from my body when my time comes to die. This is not because I believe the tree can hear my prayer, but to remind myself that they are not just there for us to abuse for profit.

This is the site

These are the logs, notched where I thought they would need to be notched. It didn't turn out like that, because the lie of the land spoilt the plan.


This is my son Joe Dart trying out the bench. 


This is the bench. It is lashed, the legs are sunk in the ground.

Vegger the dog cannot  see the point, but is prepared to bear with us.

Basically, the design went wrong because of the slope, which meant that to keep it level, it had to go asymmetric. But it works.

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