Bridgewood weblog http://www.bridgewood.org.uk/weblog/all/ The IC RSS Gadget webmaster@informedconsent.co.uk 360 Sun, 18 Jul 2010 23:10:06 GMT Sun, 18 Jul 2010 23:10:06 GMT http://www.bridgewood.org.uk/weblog/180515/ http://www.bridgewood.org.uk/weblog/180515/ Sun, 18 Jul 2010 23:10:06 GMT July's event day took place this weekend, with 9 of us enjoying the sunshine and the possibilities of the wood. On Sunday, mia and I went back and I attacked the undergrowth appearing on the North Ride with a brushcutter.... http://www.bridgewood.org.uk/weblog/180466/ http://www.bridgewood.org.uk/weblog/180466/ Sat, 03 Jul 2010 18:43:07 GMT Bridgewood now has a page on Facebook. This is primarily to provide another way of receiving notifications when I make new posts on the Bridgewood website weblog. http://www.bridgewood.org.uk/weblog/180425/ http://www.bridgewood.org.uk/weblog/180425/ Fri, 25 Jun 2010 00:32:22 GMT Last weekend mia and I camped out at Bridgewood again. I've already posted about making switches and birches on Sunday, but want to say a bit about the rest of the weekend.... http://www.bridgewood.org.uk/weblog/180418/ http://www.bridgewood.org.uk/weblog/180418/ Wed, 23 Jun 2010 19:43:43 GMT Last week there was a thread about birches on IC so while I was at Bridgewood this weekend, I decided to take some pictures of cutting switches and making a birch from the hazel which is abundant in the wood. Birch itself and willow are also good woods for this, but I naturally concentrate on hazel.... http://www.bridgewood.org.uk/weblog/180355/ http://www.bridgewood.org.uk/weblog/180355/ Fri, 04 Jun 2010 20:33:24 GMT I've uploaded a new video of the Glade and Holding Pen that I made last weekend. I've not done any videos since last autumn, and this one is now in HD which is much better for the highly textured woodland backgrounds.... http://www.bridgewood.org.uk/weblog/180308/ http://www.bridgewood.org.uk/weblog/180308/ Mon, 24 May 2010 00:34:21 GMT mia and I had our first camping trip to this weekend, with the weather hot and sunny both days, and warm over night. As well as being fun and convenient, this gives us more options for the event days which could cover both days of a weekend sometimes.... http://www.bridgewood.org.uk/weblog/180292/ http://www.bridgewood.org.uk/weblog/180292/ Wed, 19 May 2010 19:24:39 GMT It's turning out that mia and I have weekends that are either very busy or quiet. This weekend was very busy, with Club Lash, visitors to Bridgewood, a stay overnight in the Midlands, a visit to Boscobel House and then the BBB.... http://www.bridgewood.org.uk/weblog/180255/ http://www.bridgewood.org.uk/weblog/180255/ Mon, 10 May 2010 22:11:05 GMT This weekend I've almost finished the Holding Pen at Bridgewood, which provides a secure holding space for captives, and is just over 3m by 3m in size. The walls are steel mesh panels, and it's all topped with barbed wire.... http://www.bridgewood.org.uk/weblog/180192/ http://www.bridgewood.org.uk/weblog/180192/ Sun, 25 Apr 2010 21:40:50 GMT Yesterday mia and I went down to Bridgewood with a van load of fencing, both some 6ft high boundary fencing and some wire panels for a "secure" area within the wood itself. I'll be posting more about this once it's assembled. I've also uploaded some more pictures today, including the new wooden signpost at the T-Junction.... http://www.bridgewood.org.uk/weblog/180174/ http://www.bridgewood.org.uk/weblog/180174/ Mon, 19 Apr 2010 22:19:43 GMT mia and I had a trip to Bridgewood yesterday, and the weather was glorious.... http://www.bridgewood.org.uk/weblog/180146/ http://www.bridgewood.org.uk/weblog/180146/ Tue, 13 Apr 2010 00:05:26 GMT I've now finished a major update to the web pages about Bridgewood, that had been left unchanged since late 2008 in many cases despite all the work done in 2009 and earlier in 2010. The description pages now link to more details of the various areas of the wood, and some of the equipment now installed there. The new aims page explains how BDSM, forestry, and wildlife objectives all fit together. http://www.bridgewood.org.uk/weblog/180022/ http://www.bridgewood.org.uk/weblog/180022/ Wed, 17 Mar 2010 16:43:44 GMT Since my last post, I've finished the North Ride and begun work on the South Ride. Together these two form a circular track near the perimeter of the (square-ish) Bridgewood site, with the existing Middle Ride as a diagonal, rather like the red part of a "no parking" sign. I've also taken another photo of a buzzard.... http://www.bridgewood.org.uk/weblog/179819/ http://www.bridgewood.org.uk/weblog/179819/ Sat, 30 Jan 2010 19:45:59 GMT I had three trips this month, and managed to get a lot further with the North Ride (ie track) that I've been clearing. One or two more days and the full length will be open to the sky. Once this is done people will be able to go for circular walks around at least that part of the site without having to fight their way through the dense undergrowth which comes back in spring. ... http://www.bridgewood.org.uk/weblog/179485/ http://www.bridgewood.org.uk/weblog/179485/ Sun, 01 Nov 2009 19:37:55 GMT The end of October is a natural end for the open air season, in the same way that the 1st of May starts it. For the last few weekends, including yesterday, I've been doing felling work now the weather is cooler. ... http://www.bridgewood.org.uk/weblog/179367/ http://www.bridgewood.org.uk/weblog/179367/ Sun, 27 Sep 2009 21:25:02 GMT I've finally got a photo of a common buzzard, perched on one of the tree stumps in the Glade. I got this one picture before it decided to fly off into the trees. The buzzards have been spotted several times in the area of the Glade and the adjoining stretch of the Middle Ride, and opening up these spaces has probably encouraged them, as they prefer the edges of woodlands rather than dense areas. http://www.bridgewood.org.uk/weblog/179359/ http://www.bridgewood.org.uk/weblog/179359/ Thu, 24 Sep 2009 15:25:55 GMT Saturday was Bridgewood's last planned Event Day of 2009, with half a dozen in attendence and the leaves starting to fall from the trees. ... http://www.bridgewood.org.uk/weblog/179291/ http://www.bridgewood.org.uk/weblog/179291/ Wed, 02 Sep 2009 22:19:24 GMT Over the Bank Holiday weekend, I built and assembled a wood-lined cage pit at Bridgewood. ... http://www.bridgewood.org.uk/weblog/179252/ http://www.bridgewood.org.uk/weblog/179252/ Wed, 19 Aug 2009 23:59:06 GMT PhoenixAmber has written a great blog about the weekend, including the Ladder Rack she and EricStanton built using some of the cut hazel poles. ... http://www.bridgewood.org.uk/weblog/179233/ http://www.bridgewood.org.uk/weblog/179233/ Wed, 12 Aug 2009 21:13:10 GMT After glorious weekend weather in May and June, July and now August are being a bit mixed. Despite that I've still been down about one day a week, and managed to dodge the recent rain using the weather forecasts. Most of these trips have been to enjoy the wood (including its BDSM possibilities with a new volunteer), but I've also almost finished the new toilet.... http://www.bridgewood.org.uk/weblog/179116/ http://www.bridgewood.org.uk/weblog/179116/ Wed, 15 Jul 2009 22:07:26 GMT I came across Coed Hiraeth in Wales, a woodland that is being developed for various "health and wellbeing" activities, from informal wilderness days and volunteer weekends, up to outdoor therapy sessions. Their common theme is that we're missing something we need by not being in contact with the natural world, and that woodlands are an ideal place to redress this imbalance....