Open day at Butterbeare Wood
When I told family and friends that I had bought 4.5 acres of woodland in North Devon many of them expressed an interest is seeing it. In August, I therefore arranged an 'open day'. I also invited along the owners of neighbouring areas of woodland.
Guests were encouraged to bring along something to sit on and their own picnics to supplement the barbecue and drinks which I had organised. Shelter was provided by my shed, a couple of gazebos and a tipi. And that other essential, a toilet tent, contained an earth closet.
Having sorted out the essentials: food, drink & shelter, I then needed to think about entertainment. We had live music from Spilt Milk, a talented local duo. A raffle was held in aid of Amnesty International. I also bought a couple of Petron toy crossbows that were used for an archery competition. Not quite Olympic style archery, but the competition was just as intense.
As the day approached and the weather continued unsettled I feared a washout. However, after 24 hours of showery rain the sun came out just in time for the start of the event and it continued to shine all afternoon.
Information about the wood and the trees in it were posted up. The only problem was that with so much recent rain, the lower area of the woodland was rather muddy, which discouraged some visitors from exploring it.
About forty people came, most leaving by around 6pm, but half a dozen of us stayed on to camp. We spent a pleasant evening around the camp fire telling stories and drinking beer.
- Sales of raffle tickets were brisk in the sunshine
- intense competition at the crossbow archery
- enjoying the barbecue
- live music from a local duo
The children made their own entertainment
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Discussion
The day we had been looking forward to arrived, and in good weather we travelled to see Mike’s wood. It was sooooooooooooo lovely and a beautiful place to walk around, despite the fact the rain we had had for a few days, on and off, had made it rather soft going underfoot. We had an excellent time meeting all Mike’s friends and relatives, eating super food and drinking real cider.The weather was kind to us, we enjoyed the archery competition and the raffle was hopefully a good fund raiser for the cause, and, to top it all we had the talented duo Spilt Milk to entertain us. A very special day indeed. Well done Mike. Thank you for inviting us.
That sounds fantastic fun, Mike. How did you get food hygiene/environmental health approval for your BBQ? It is a sore point with us – absence of hot and cold running water is the main issue. Or was it invitation only and therefore a private party?
Sounds like a good day – so glad it all worked out. BTW shouldn’t the caption for “live music from a local duo” photo be “Oooh what a nice bum!” …
So glad the sun came out for you – it looks amazing! Really love the fund-raising angle too. I hope you’ll be doing another one that I’ll be free to come along to!!
Hi Mike,
we have just brought a woodland in wales and we love it.
We want to have an event like this as soon as we sort out the parking – then we will.
Thanks for sharing, this sounds good.
Janet
It sounds like you had a fantastic day Mike! I would love to own a woodland so we could visit and have small events simular to yours!
Just a note from me the organiser of the event in response to the question about getting hygiene/environmental health approval – yes, it was a private functions so this was not required.
Mike Smith
24 December, 2012