Finding us and not getting lost

If you are coming to the wood by car, then this map should help. Set your satnavs to Colliers Green School at Colliers Green, Cranbrook TN17 2LR and you will end up by the marker at the beginning of the purple line

The link to the map is here: https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=12znqwWVQWstmy7omNUuYs9JGNpDTouM&usp=sharing

There are three footpaths that get you into Old Path Wood. Whilst there is no actual parking, there are places along the road by all three entrances marked on the map at the beginning of the yellow, purple and green lines. Obviously be mindful of others and the width of the road! Especially on Roundgreen Lane, the green path on the map, and please do not block the gates to the wood there. 

I also strongly suggest you download the whatthreewords app (https://what3words.com/clip.apples.leap) before coming. If you havent used this before, its a very clever location platform with every square metre mapped to three English words. I have annotated each point on the map that you need with its three words and this should make finding the clearing where we will be easier. Note that its a GPS system and will work in the wood, even if you have no signal

The whatthreewords routes are :

Yellow path: start at ///exclaim.desktop.gains, hop over the style and walk for about 10mins until the foorpath crosses a much bigger ride (suitable for two cars to pass each other). Turn right, now off the public path and walk towards ///whistling.cycles.jubilant (another 10mins or so). You are now at Silver Wood. Turn into the wood down the narrow path and walk till you come to a T-junction on its side. Turn right and walk towards ///chestnuts.post.ruling where we will be

Purple path: start at ///imported.firewall.bills and go through the gate along the green path, making sure you stay on the signposted public footpath and enter the wood after less than 10mins. Walk a little further until you come to an obvious cross roads with a new gate on your right. But here, turn left now off the public path and walk towards ///whistling.cycles.jubilant (another 10mins or so). You are now at Silver Wood. Turn into the wood down the narrow path and walk till you come to a T-junction on its side. Turn right and walk towards ///chestnuts.post.ruling where we will be

Green path: start at sketch.kilt.severe and hop over the style. Walk down the edge of the wood until you come to a metal kissing gate on your left. Its very obvious. Go into the wood until you come to an obvious cross roads with a new gate on your left. But here, turn right now off the public path and walk towards ///whistling.cycles.jubilant (another 10mins or so). You are now at Silver Wood. Turn into the wood down the narrow path and walk till you come to a T-junction on its side. Turn right and walk towards ///chestnuts.post.ruling where we will be

Most people drive to the wood but getting to us by train and bike or train and taxi is possible. The best station for taxis is probably Paddock Wood but you will need to book in advance. As Carolyn and Chris discovered one year, there are some interesting hills between Paddock wood and Old Park Wood so if you are bringing your bike on the train, its better to come to Marden. I put some phone numbers of taxis in this previous blog https://silverwoodkent.blogspot.com/2011/05/public-transport.html but I really do not know if they are still active. If you are coming by train and taxi, then best check!

A wonderful surprise in the dawn chorus

 

In May I always enjoy the dawn chorus and this year I decided to sleep in the wood so that I could hear it in full. Frankly, I didn't sleep that well as it sounded like the owls had decided to share the clearing where my hammock tent was with me, they were that loud. But the dawn chorus lived up to expectations and in this little video you can hear robins and blackbirds getting the show off the ground with tawny owls still in the background. Over the next hour or so, every one else chimed in - blackcaps, song thrush, wrens, pheasant, crows, chiffchaffs and the owls kept going for some time after the sun was risen. 

But towards the end I was thrilled to hear a turtle dove. You can just about hear it towards the end of the movie - alongside the photo of the timber stack. 

This bird has sadly had a catastrophic decline in population, the fastest in the UK in fact. Locally, there are groups and individuals doing what they can to slow or reverse the decline, including the turtle dove project at Marden https://mardenwildlife.org.uk/turtle-dove-research/ and in the wood, Martin Garwood working to establish habitat and feeding areas for them. Last year I saw a turtle dove about a mile away, while fishing, but have never heard or seen one in our wood.  

Wonderfully, this particular bird is one that has been tracked by the Marden group. He was named Joe, and here you can see some of its activity exactly where I heard, and then saw him

And here he is, having had his tracker backpack fitted. 

He is quite beautiful and I could not have been more thrilled to have him with us over this summer. We have spent a lot of time and some effort in managing the wood so that it has a range of habitat - opening and scalloping some of the rides and re-establishing a coppice cycle so there is a range of ages of the trees providing different types of habitat for nesting and feeding. See some of this here https://silverwoodkent.blogspot.com/2018/05/ and here https://silverwoodkent.blogspot.com/2013/05/why-have-you-chopped-all-trees-down.html for example

Joe and the other turtle doves tracked by the wonderful Marden team will soon be off back to their home in Africa if they havent gone already. Lets hope they come back next year!

Very many thanks to Ray Morris for his photos and even more for the work that he does with Marden Wildlife to support these lovely birds and more

Welcome to Silver Wood 2025!

 

For anyone who hasn't been to Silver Wood, on-line or in person, then welcome! 

I've used this website over the years mostly to share information about how to get to Old Park Wood, how to find us and sometimes to use it for photos from little gatherings we have had and some activities and photos. Feel free to rummage around amongst previous posts and if you do, I hope you find something of interest! As you can see, I haven't posted anything for a long time but if you are here it probably means you are coming to see us, so more to follow over the next couple of weeks.