11/03/2026
There's a renewed interest in woodland crafts but it's still important to honour the tradition 😊
Picked up a super book in a charity shop yesterday ~
"Or woodlands and forests have long held a deep fascination for lovers of the countryside and it's crafts and traditions. For centuries men and women have made a living there but now the way of life is increasingly under pressure from the modern world. Val Porter records the memories of these sturdy woodland characters often stretching back to the days of their forefathers. She pays affectionate homage to the craftsmen who made sheep hurdles, wattle panels, walking sticks, hoops, roofing shingles and a host of other traditional products from the coppices. There are those who worked with horses, and others who made charcoal - naturalists who simply loved the Woodland for the flora and fauna; and there are the women who worked in the woods, especially in the elite Timber Corp during World War II.
These vivid accounts are bound together by tales from the archives, from beyond living memory, stories of adder catchers, fairy children in the forest, and mythical woodlanders. Beautifully illustrated by Phil Murphy's evocative paintings, and by many old photographs of the characters in their woodland homes, this fascinating book is an important record of a rapidly disappearing way of life"
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