Into the Woods with Victor Crutchely

Going for a walk in the woods with Victor is like stepping into ‘tree-time’ – an opportunity to slow down and take notice of what’s growing around us. It is also apparent how much of a long-term view he takes of managing the woods, and individual trees, many of which will likely outlast him. This is clearly part of his routine as a woodsman: taking the time to walk around the woodlands observing what's going on. There are always things to notice and things that need doing. He eyes-up particular trees that might be the right age, size and shape for being felled, but he also takes time to look upon the wider woodland environment. “The thing is this, that size of tree can make quite a big splash when they land, so you always have to consider which direction it will fall and what's it going to hit. Really, you have to fell them into the open. We don't do any felling in the summer and we try not to trample around too much in the bird nesting period.”

Whilst felling trees and selling timber (or other forestry products) is a mainstay of his work, it’s clear the appreciation of each tree within the woods on its own merits is also a driving influence. As with all foresters ‘thinning’ is a general rule: if there's several trees growing together then to take some out periodically will allow the others to grow better. “But, it's quite a hard decision to fell a mature tree, if it's not part of the thinning process. If you've got an isolated tree and there's nothing wrong with it, then it has become a landscape tree in a way.” 

I reminded of the word connoisseur, as is often applied to something like wine or whisky. For me, it is somebody with a mixture of objective knowledge and subjective passion, and as such Victor is clearly a woodland connoisseur. We pause frequently to admire the particular growth-form of an oak, or to appreciate a wildflower – we see Herb Paris and Twayblade both rare plants – or just to enjoy a clearing with slanting sunshine. Each time we stand in silence for a significant while, before he eventually speaks softly: “I mean, this is beautiful here. This is lovely, isn't it?”

We come across several trees with small cavities and Victor waxes lyrical about their value for bats as habitats to roost. “If you were a forester, you would tend to fell trees that have got damage like this. But you don't want to be too tidy. The trouble about very tidy woods is there's nowhere for the bats to go. Overgown ivy is probably the best next thing.” There is a small patch of conifers nearby: “It’s a bit of an experiment. I think, personally, some of the bird species will like nesting in those. I’d love to see goshawks when these become mature conifers….”

“It's just a historical coincidence that there aren't any footpaths through our land, they all go along the edges of the woods. I think we should allow a bit more managed access to the woods, maybe at certain times a year. I'm all for access, all for people enjoying it.”

Victor has done much in terms of increasing public access – a good example being the newly created public accessible Africa Woods, which is five hectares along the old Powerstock railway line. That was supported with a supplementary grant for public access. “If you can get people out into natural spaces like this, they start to care about it. I think it taps into something quite primitive and natural, so I do see woodlands as an opportunity for people to experience and learn a lot…” He discusses several innovative examples about how woodland owners/managers and specific interest groups can work well together. At Axewoods Co-op in East Devon there is a Tuesday club of retired professionals who come to do regular woodland work, which Victor thinks could be a good model for the Brit Valley Project woodland management. On his own patch there is also a motorcycle club that has used the woods once or twice, as a bit of a trial. “It's a wood that was planted 35 years ago, but they really love going in there. I think actually, encouraging those groups directly is much better, than one or two individuals finding their own way into the woods without being managed.”

We also discuss having arranged access for bird watchers, or to show people certain things. Like other partners in the project, if someone approached the estate, they would be open to allowing specific access. It is something that could be planned and promoted with the project. But he’s also pragmatic about both landowners and the public getting the right arrangement for each other. “Better to encourage people into the right places than let them go in the wrong places.” One of their sites has become a sort of major thoroughfare for walkers, but he talks of allowing “more interesting access”: linking footpaths to create a loop and providing a bit more variety because people are able to go off grid. But at the same he’s aware of reducing too much access in sensitive areas, especially where there might be vulnerable wildlife.

There are clear conflicts between a working wood and general public access: “Well, there's also the danger if you're working in the woods... We've had the odd group of people walk through the wood, and it's actually quite dangerous because you're felling a tree like this and it's going to land 50 yards away. If someone's doing a run with their earphones on and they just run down the track, it could easily hit someone.”

Yet, on the other hand, there may be some unexpected positives of public access for woodland. Victor describes a field near Loders with developing oak saplings, now reaching a decent height “I think all the dog walkers keep the deer away, actually. So, maybe there’s a good role for dog walkers!”

Although there is no shortage of trees in the woods, it is clearly not really an expanding business in the sense of getting more timber and more profits. But there’s a strong, enduring sense of trying to improve what's here now, and for the future. I ask Victor how he got into woodlands. “I grew up working with the woodman who used to work for us on the farm. He was called Norman Froome. He was an amazing old man who worked for us till he retired for about 18 years and he planted some of the new woods. He used to make chestnut fencing posts. And his grandson still comes a few days a year, comes and works with us.” He also highlighted a love for making things from wood with his own hands. He did carpentry at school and made chairs.

In terms of the future, and other partners and farms in the catchment Victor would love to see more trees planted and woodlands created. Much of the marginal land, which doesn't pay for itself financially, could become wood-pasture or agroforestry. There are grants for establishment and Victor is open about getting help and advice – even offering it himself: “I'm all for encouraging woodland management and I'm very happy to show people around. I don't know if I can produce the figures that show that you're going to make much money on it. But I really think it's worthwhile, and it's a nice place to work, and you're producing something that can be used locally.”

Ash die-back is clearly a worry for the future. He shows me the telltale signs of an ash with several little vertical shoots; a sign of stress caused by the disease. When the disease first came along it was the young trees that succumbed first. He has hope for some of the older woodland ashes staying healthy for longer, as they are planted in a mix with other tree species. But the fact is that the disease is gradually progressing, and many will eventually be lost from these woods: “It's a great sadness, isn't it?”

Already, however, there are opportunities for regeneration of sycamore saplings, which may take the place of the ash, to some extent. In Victor’s eye they are shapely trees when allowed to grow to maturity with space around them. Birch trees might benefit from bare ground left by fallen ash trees, as they are such good pioneers. Victor is also an advocate of planting sweet chestnut trees – it's not a native species, but has become naturalized here in Britain. He tells me it grows well on Bridport sands, which covers quite a lot of the catchment area, and could even be grown on bracken banks. Some of the bigger specimens produce impressive twists with swirling bark. He thinks Sweet Chestnut, Hornbeam and Walnut might all do well with changing conditions due to global heating. “In a way I am trying to increase the number of quality timber trees on the farm. I do regard naturally durable timber as opposed to ‘treated’ timber as important. We the wood on our own building projects: the Cart-house has seven different species cladding it, and we have four small-framed sheds using locally-grown timber.”

As we leave the woods, I ask Victor if he has a favourite type of tree… “I always think field maple are very beautiful. They don't often grow to full tree. But they're just very pretty I think. The leaves are really shapely, and they have very delicate flowers. It's also very good tree to maintain shade on the floor of the woodland – that's quite important with forestry…” His answer to this final question holds a balance of the practical and the poetic, the hall mark of a true tree connoisseur, perhaps.