Emma Pritchard celebrates Surrey woodlands this month with arboreal activities near you
Walk: Ensure your physical and mental wellbeing with a brisk walk through Glover’s Wood, near Charlwood, which has well-marked nature trails to follow. Look closely and you may catch glimpses of shrews, great spotted woodpeckers and, on warmer days, even bats and hedgehogs among the oak, hazel and birch trees and medieval bank and ditch systems.
Craft: Mervyn Mewis set up Green Wood Works on the Birtley Brook Estate in Bramley to celebrate the county’s native woodlands and to share his passion for carpentry – he handmakes furniture and musical instruments, using timber sourced from his Surrey surroundings. In addition to talks about tree identification, woodland management and biodiversity, Mervyn also runs workshops teaching traditional wood carving techniques in a relaxed and rustic barn setting.
Forage: Truffles grow best where there is alkaline soil over chalk – such as on the Surrey Downs – and are still harvestable this month. Find out how to locate these culinary delicacies on one of James Feaver’s experience days with The English Truffle Company. Although based in Dorset, the skills you’ll learn are transferable. Plus, if you own woodland, you can hire one of his truffle-sniffing dogs to help source your potential crop at home.
Adventure: Pure Bushcraft are offering free taster sessions every other week throughout January, ahead of the official launch of its Bushcraft Foundation Course in spring. Discover your inner survival instinct with workshops on shelter building, fire lighting, navigation and tool making, in the beautiful surroundings of the Surrey Hills.
Follow Emma on @craftandcountry for more great countryside ideas, or check out her monthly column in our Surrey magazines
