Weekend (woodland) Warrior.

Bluebell Wood. 

After the agonising four week wait for the completion of the legal process for purchasing the wood I have now been able to get down there and get stuck in.

I managed a few days immediately after the completion date before I had to pack my bags and head to the big smoke for work (London. Noisy place).

I have been down and done a lot of work during the last two weekends. It's hard graft at the minute but it's a very rewarding process.

I'm slowly getting a feel for the place and finding my bearings.

The wood is triangular in shape with a 350m road frontage (not too noisy except for commuters using it as a rat run during rush hour) and about 150m at its widest point. It slopes gently upwards, in an east to west direction, from the pointy end to the wide part; and has a lovely little brook meandering throughout its length. The westerly end on the road side of the brook has a steeper gradient. The perfect spot, it seems, for rope swings (Unfortunately I've had to remove them for insurance purposes).

A crappy screenshot from Google maps but you get the general idea. 

Rather fortuitously the quiet corner furthest from the road is relatively flat and is the perfect spot for my HQ. This is where I'm currently focusing my time. 

If you go down to the woods today...

...you might find me there.

I got confirmation from the solicitors today that everything has gone through smoothly and I'm now officially the owner of almost 6.5 acres of mature woodland.

It hasn't been an entirely smooth passage however.

Unfortunately my mate Dave couldn't raise the necessary capital to fund his half of the purchase and so I had to make a decision; let it go or go for it. I went for it.

For the first time in many years I've had to borrow some money, but sometimes in life you have to take a risk.

I'm finding the whole thing both exciting and slightly scary in equal measure. One thing is certain though, no matter what happens now, I am going to gain a great deal of pleasure from the whole adventure.