A walk through Thieves Wood: The trees vs machines.

Arriving at the car park at Thieves Wood, a stretch of woodland sandwiched between Newstead Abbey and Mansfield - I got the feeling that “changes might be in the air” as Thieves Wood is a place that I had not visited in many years. I did have have memories of this wood being sort of,

“Rough and ready around the outside, it is a woodland which if you have an hour is the perfect place to escape within.”

Perhaps though the most stand out memory of Thieves Wood that I have is of a refreshment wagon that used to be within the car park, that sold burgers, sausages, bacon cobs and tea along with coffee; seemingly though things do come to an end and the refreshment wagon no longer visits, silent almost it felt like but that did not matter as I was here rather unexpectedly and here to relive old memories that I had of this woodland. It is worth saying that reputedly the wood and trees in Thieves Wood, was used in the construction of Nottingham Castle.

Now though it was time to re-explore a woodland that many years ago I was familiar with, but now was that familiarity gone? Seemingly, the familiarity had gone and I was astounded to see destruction, not deliberate destruction but somehow it seemed slightly apocalyptic and dystopian, almost as if machine’s from the future had traipsed the floor, the track and tire imprints were everywhere, but then I noticed something - little and large, a small tree growing in an area surrounded by the taller trees and this was rather magical, but what else would be ahead of me? I had already seen tracks from machine’s - but was any beauty waiting in these woods, I just had to continue the walk.

Little vs Large.

Ahead of me the path which I had walked on when I was younger, now it looked different yet it still had a sense of familiarity about it, from when I used to walk through these woodlands, the back of my mind however had memories within it from years ago and I could visualize what these woods used to be like.

It takes you on a discovery.

Continuing down the path the shapes of the trees continued to change; for here formality really does not exist, instead what exists is a very informal set of trees, growing and co-existing together intertwined in something which if it existed as a painting would look like “Guernica” by Pablo Picasso.

The random of the woodland.

But did it really matter that the trees seemed slightly surreal with no conformality, instead only informality existing? Not it did not, instead it made it feel that more real, for this is a working woodland as well so things are going to be different. A little pause and to the left of me a stream, the trees looked so lush and green; another oasis in the middle of this apocalyptic and dystopian like woodland landscape that I was now surrounded in.

An oasis amongst chaos.

Next I was on a path that I remembered from years ago, a certain sense of magic in front of me and memories came flooding back - in front of me now a tree like a Japanese fan appeared and this was just another woodland curiosity or artwork that was living, breathing in this gallery of outdoor chaos.

Woodland curiosities - (Black and White).

Woodland curiosities - (Colour).

Soon though the chaos gave way to “curiosities” on the ground within this woodland and those curiosities were made of wood, branches and pieces of felled trees that had been repurposed and given a new lease of life; now they provided intricately built shelters, some even being “non confirmative” was this the workings of the tree fellers between tree chopping I wondered?

The waiting room - (Black and White).

The waiting room - (Colour).

Hidden in sight.

Not forgetting that this woodland was a working woodland, I continued and so did the delights; a pile of logs acted as a reminder that whilst this woodland can be enjoyed by many, it is still one that you have to keep a watchful eye on because of heavy machines that might be carrying out heavy work as you are walking along.

Contrasts of what can become.

When trees are chopped - (Black and White).

When trees are chopped - (Colour).

“But in a working woodland, surprises are found everywhere. The relationship between machines, forestry equipment and the natural landscape have blended together creating something that could be alien almost, for beauty is in the eye of the beholder here.”

The surprises continued. A short distance from those logs were the scars of forestry and a pathway leading through the woodland seems alien like, what happens if you walk down that pathway where machines once drove? Where would you end up? More questions left unanswered.

Mysteries ahead - (Black and White).

Mysteries ahead - (Colour).

Where does it go to? - (Black and White).

Where does it go to? - (Colour).

Then a clearing came, it was here that I saw the deforestation of these woodlands, in front of me like some apocalyptic scene, almost like something had gone Nuclear, it had not though, for these were the scars left over from the recent felling of the trees. Did it look “Ethical” no it did not, but nevertheless it was happening.

Around the corner is apocalypse.

The apocalypse amongst growth.

A little bit further on against the backdrop of the survivors (trees that had not been felled, chopped down or shaped by forestry equipment were the new saplings, an area that had previously been chopped, now was recovering, but those saplings did not know what would happen to them in years to come. They were the next generation waiting to be chopped down by people.

New growth.

Walking along a path churned up by machine gave a haunting photo opportunity and I just had to stop for a moment and capture it, it looked ugly, but at the same time it looked like a strange piece of artwork somehow, but what is art though? Anything at all really is classed as art, we are limited only by perspectives.

Hauntings of machine.

“The path of machine” lead me eventually to another artistic delight, a tree by the side of the path/track that the forestry machines and equipment had used, however this tree was just a short distance away from where those machines drove - yet this one had not been chopped down, instead it existed in a no man's land between the working woods section of Thieves Wood and between an area of woodland of no commercial value, for this was a tree that was not in for the chop, either way it looked truly mesmerizing and slightly dystopian.

Delights amongst dystopia - (Colour).

Delights amongst dystopia - (Black and White).

Now the walk progressed, away from the woodland and now I was walking through an alien world, one that was both post apocalyptic and eerie, with dystopia - here the clearings visible from where machines had been at work. Instead saplings grew where the taller pines had been chopped down, and the taller trees awaiting,

“The taller trees of the area, which had been planted years ago, waiting in line, regimented like soldiers, for they will be the next ones to fall down.”

It was a strange sight, clearings but on either side of the clearings, regimented trees growing that slowly but shortly awaited their fate later on, unknowingly as well.

Alone amongst machines - (Colour).

Alone amongst machines - (Black and White).

Surrounded by conforming trees.

After passing through that area of regimentation and regimented trees that awaited fate, the path lead back down an incline, now I was on the level and a path in front of me calved through the older and taller trees, for these trees existed in a bubble close to the fringes of the industrial scars, yet somehow they remained unaware of what had been happening close by where the chopping process took place.

Avenue of height.

I continued, for now was the last part of the walk I was on, it had been a walk of “many surprises” and a walk of discoveries as well, but one last surprise, a tree that had been shaped by nature and I was curious about the raw beauty of it.

Artwork of growth - (Colour).

Artwork of growth - (Black and White).

Lush and green is what that tree was, un-touched but raw and beautiful existing in a woodland that held many secrets and surprises. But Thieves Wood though is an area of woodland that is a working wood, and the working environment of machines just adds to the landscape, which is strange really upon reflection as anyone else would probably think that it is quite ugly. It more than likely is quite ugly, but standing side by side are the trees vs the machines, and there is no losers, here it is only the winners and the trees and machines are the winners in a strange way as they have made this woodland what they are today, thought provoking is what this woodland is, but somehow let down by the detritus of plastic bags at the car park, I mean come on Forestry England, it would not cost much to put at least one plastic bag at the car park would it?

But here lies the question - can somewhere natural with trees, a woodland which is a working wood be a place of beauty? Yes I think it can and that is because the working part of the woodland adds a certain kind of mystery and another level of interest to an already interesting landscape, but this woodland I will not be visiting for a while, but when I return though what things in the future will have changed? Who knows and that is the great thing about mystery.