I came into stewardship of these woods in 2023, a dream to connect with nature, to escape town, to get off grid. It's slow time, getting to know the woods, the movements in nature, the people. And a huge learning curve. There's no grand vision, just a desire for peace, and a chance to share and grow with others.

You can read more about the woods themselves on the Woodland Wales page. My aim is to use the best woodland management practices to create a space where different tree types grow happily together, creating a habitat that birds, mammals and all those little bugs and flowers love too. We're building on a system called continuous cover forestry (CCF), which aims to maximise natural processes - and definitely avoids any clear-felling. More coming soon.

The idea of mixing retreats and workshops with managing woods for themselves and for nature, that is the direction of travel. As as singer-songwriter myself, I thought: what better way to start, than songwriting retreats in the woods?! Wellness weekends jumped out at me too - I'm talking to various practitioners to get something together. And I'm always open to ideas - would love some forest schoolery, some bushcraft and green-wood-work activities*. Please get in touch with any thoughts, suggestions or proposals!

(*We're looking at the idea of a residential workshop to build a log cabin - lots of practical skills and communal work/living.)