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<description><p>We had some snow up here over New Year, followed by ...
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<description><p>We had some snow up here over New Year, followed by ...
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<?xml version='1.0' encoding='utf-8' ?><!-- If you are running a bot please visit this policy page outlining rules you must respect. https://www.livejournal.com/bots/ --><rss version='2.0' xmlns:lj='http://www.livejournal.org/rss/lj/1.0/' xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' xmlns:atom10='http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom'><channel> <title>Huntley Wood News</title> <link>https://huntleywood.livejournal.com/</link> <description>Huntley Wood News - LiveJournal.com</description> <lastBuildDate>Fri, 10 Jul 2015 12:54:31 GMT</lastBuildDate> <generator>LiveJournal / LiveJournal.com</generator> <lj:journal>huntleywood</lj:journal> <lj:journalid>29711828</lj:journalid> <lj:journaltype>personal</lj:journaltype> <image> <url>https://l-userpic.livejournal.com/118875026/29711828</url> <title>Huntley Wood News</title> <link>https://huntleywood.livejournal.com/</link> <width>100</width> <height>100</height> </image> <item> <guid isPermaLink='true'>https://huntleywood.livejournal.com/23171.html</guid> <pubDate>Fri, 10 Jul 2015 12:54:31 GMT</pubDate> <title>Draycott Summer Fayre</title> <author>huntleywood</author> <link>https://huntleywood.livejournal.com/23171.html</link> <description>This coming Sunday, July 12th is the local Summer Fayre in Draycott, which is held to raise funds for St Margaret&#39;s Church. We are very pleased and excited to say that once again Huntley Wood will be represented and advertising our site to local groups, so we hope to see some of you there!<br /><br />Along with <a href="http://www.huntleyevents.co.uk/" target="_blank" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Huntley Events</a>, we have donated a Wilderness Treasure Trail experience day to the main raffle for the weekend. The lucky winner will, along with a group of up to 14 people, be able to spend a morning or afternoon at Huntley Wood on a Wilderness Treasure Trail experience which is suitable for all the family.<br /><br />We&rsquo;ll be holding an Open Day at Huntley Wood on Saturday the 5th of September, and hopefully the fayre will be a good opportunity to discuss with the local community what they would like to see and experience at our Open Day.<br /><br />Further information about the Fayre and what is on over the weekend can be found on the <a href="https://draycottinmoors.wordpress.com/" target="_blank" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Draycott in the Moors website</a> or the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/809955365765994/" target="_blank" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">St Margaret&#39;s Summer Fayre Facebook page</a> - it&#39;s a great day out for all the family, with lots of fun displays and activities, so why not come along. Just need to keep our fingers crossed for good weather!</description> <comments>https://huntleywood.livejournal.com/23171.html?view=comments#comments</comments> <category>local</category> <category>events</category> <category>prize</category> <category>winners</category> <category>fayre</category> <category>raffle</category> <lj:security>public</lj:security> <lj:reply-count>0</lj:reply-count> </item> <item> <guid isPermaLink='true'>https://huntleywood.livejournal.com/22830.html</guid> <pubDate>Tue, 23 Jun 2015 18:11:15 GMT</pubDate> <title>Change of Management</title> <author>huntleywood</author> <link>https://huntleywood.livejournal.com/22830.html</link> <description>For a variety of personal reasons, I (Emma) have decided to step out of the management of Huntley Wood.&nbsp; I will still be involved with the site on some level, but am handing over the day-to-day running of the business.<br /><br />Jonathan Ely and Robert Corlett will be picking this up - Jon has, of course, been my business partner for the last few years, and Rob is a long time friend who has been involved with Huntley Wood since the outset; he managed the project throughout the development work here, and knows and loves the site as well as I do.&nbsp; They are also both interested in many of the same things as I am, and have some great ideas for the site which fit well with my own so I am very confident they will do a great job.<br /><br />Jon and Rob will both be involved with running the business, however Rob will become the Managing Director and will be responsible for the day-to-day running of the business and Huntley Wood, so please direct correspondence to him directly on <a href="mailto:rob@huntleywood.co.uk" target="_blank" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">rob@huntleywood.co.uk</a>.<br /><br />There will be a period of hand over where I&#39;ll still be very involved with the site day to day, so initially not much will change, but over the course of the next couple of months things will gradually move across.&nbsp; General contact can still be made through <a href="mailto:info@huntleywood.co.uk" target="_blank" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">info@huntleywood.co.uk</a>, and you will continue to be able to reach me on <a href="mailto:emma@huntleywood.co.uk" target="_blank" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">emma@huntleywood.co.uk</a>.<br /><br /><div>Though it has at times been difficult and stressful, I have greatly enjoyed many things about building and managing the site and business at Huntley Wood over the last five years, in particular it has always been a pleasure to welcome groups here and to hear how much people have enjoyed using the site.&nbsp; I am also as keen as ever on the wildlife and conservation work that goes on here, which is something I hope to stay very involved in after I have taken a short break!<br /><br />I would like to wish Jon and Rob the very best in taking the business forward from here, and really look forward to seeing how it continues to develop in the future.<br /><br />Emma King,<br />ex-Managing Director</div></description> <comments>https://huntleywood.livejournal.com/22830.html?view=comments#comments</comments> <lj:security>public</lj:security> <lj:reply-count>0</lj:reply-count> </item> <item> <guid isPermaLink='true'>https://huntleywood.livejournal.com/22755.html</guid> <pubDate>Thu, 14 May 2015 10:58:18 GMT</pubDate> <title>Sustainability</title> <author>huntleywood</author> <link>https://huntleywood.livejournal.com/22755.html</link> <description>We have owned Huntley Wood for just over 5 years now, and been open for the last 2 years, this being our third summer in operation.&nbsp; We have one site, the <a href="http://huntleywood.co.uk/sites/wyldwood/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Wyldwood</a>, fully functional, with the second, the <a href="http://huntleywood.co.uk/sites/greenvale/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Greenvale</a>, being developed at present and set to come online for next summer.&nbsp; In general things seem to be going well, with the site itself vastly improved from <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/huntleywood/sets/72157626240170248" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">the abandoned quarry we took over back in 2010</a>, and a variety of groups using the site and facilities who seem to greatly enjoy visiting here.&nbsp; This year we are booked for events almost every weekend from the beginning of March to the end of November, which is our main season, plus have some weekday business, so have good occupancy rates and a great deal of repeat visits from happy event organisers, which is fantastic news.<br /><br />However, the team we have looking after the site is small, and consequently the work load and stress have been very high throughout the project.&nbsp; We always expected this to be the case during the setup phase of Huntley Wood, but looking forward it has begun to seem as if this is unlikely to change as we move from setup to regular operations.&nbsp; Unfortunatley the existing situation is simply not sustainable, so we&#39;re having to look hard at making changes to improve things.<br /><br />At present we are doing some re-organisation of how we run Huntley Wood to try to reduce that work load and stress on key members of the team, and as part of this sadly we need to cut back on some of the additional nice but not necessary things we have been doing.&nbsp; In particular, the recently started <a href="https://www.youtube.com/c/HuntleyWood" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">youTube channel</a> is going to stop being a regular online diary each week, and become a much more occasional affair - if something noteable or eventful happens, a video may appear, but day to day we don&#39;t expect to be updating it often.&nbsp; Similarly, we are bringing the <a href="http://news.huntleywood.co.uk/22031.html" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">monthly photo competition</a> and associated calendar to a close - it was a great deal of fun to do last year, we saw some <a href="http://news.huntleywood.co.uk/tag/2015%20calendar" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">great photos</a> and we&#39;re really pleased it <a href="http://news.huntleywood.co.uk/21951.html" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">raised some money for charity</a>, but the extra workload on evenings and weekends of sorting out the competition is simply unsustainable when there is so much else to be done.&nbsp; This blog, which admittedly hasn&#39;t been updated that regularly for a while, will again become an occasional affair, only being updated if something especially newsworthy happens rather than trying to maintain a schedule of regular updates.&nbsp; Our <a href="https://www.facebook.com/HuntleyWood" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">facebook page</a> (which is automatically crossposted to our <a href="https://twitter.com/huntleywood" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">twitter account</a>) is much quicker and easier to update, so smaller items may crop up there more often, though again the frequency of updates is likely to reduce.<br /><br />Hopefully cutting back on this sort of nice but unnecessary added extra, combined with some re-organisation amongst the team will help us reach a point where Hunltey Wood is sustainable for the future.&nbsp; In the short term it will give us more time and energy to concentrate on the core important things - making sure we have a great site for people to use and enjoy - and will also allow us the space we need to look at important issues for our business model, such as minimising our overheads and finding additional business and sources of revenue.<br /><br />Internally a lot feels like it is changing, though from the point of view of those who visit the site and run events here I doubt there will seem to be much difference, except the reduction in the aforementioned extra bits and pieces we do which are largely online.<br /><br />If you are someone who has some time to spare and might enjoy helping us out with any aspect of the business - from volunteering on site to do improvements or ecology work, to updating the blog or website or taking/uploading photos, videos, helping with advertising and marketing, etc, do drop me a line at <a href="http://news.huntleywood.co.uk/21104.html" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">emma@huntleywood.co.uk</a> as all help is greatly appreciated!&nbsp;</description> <comments>https://huntleywood.livejournal.com/22755.html?view=comments#comments</comments> <category>improvements</category> <category>photo</category> <category>calendar</category> <category>charity</category> <category>ecology</category> <category>budget</category> <category>youtube</category> <category>competition</category> <category>photos</category> <category>wyldwood</category> <category>education</category> <category>advertising</category> <category>website</category> <category>facebook</category> <category>fb</category> <category>construction</category> <category>marketing</category> <category>video</category> <category>greenvale</category> <category>twitter</category> <category>maintenance</category> <category>events</category> <category>booking</category> <lj:security>public</lj:security> <lj:reply-count>0</lj:reply-count> </item> <item> <guid isPermaLink='true'>https://huntleywood.livejournal.com/22366.html</guid> <pubDate>Mon, 13 Apr 2015 21:20:36 GMT</pubDate> <title>youTube Video Diary</title> <author>huntleywood</author> <link>https://huntleywood.livejournal.com/22366.html</link> <description>I&#39;ve just started a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChSI4xRodlHLKS-tXAdRu-Q" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Huntley Wood youTube channel</a>.&nbsp; My first project on the channel is a playlist called &quot;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLYSIEsrqyLLn5ZrELarUfgSoRiJzmniQC" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Living the Dream</a>&quot;, which will be a video diary of stuff we get up to here day to day.&nbsp; I&#39;m also hoping in time to add other things such as promotional videos, and videos of talks I&#39;ve given at various events. <br /><br />For now I&#39;m mostly figuring out how to take sensible videos on my phone, and how to use youTube, but hopefully the channel and play list will develop over time as I get used to the technology involved.....<br /><br />To be notified of new videos when they are uploaded you can subscribe to the channel, or <a href="http://facebook.com/huntleywood" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">follow us on facebook</a> where we will announce new videos as they are uploaded.</description> <comments>https://huntleywood.livejournal.com/22366.html?view=comments#comments</comments> <category>video</category> <category>website</category> <category>youtube</category> <category>facebook</category> <category>diary</category> <lj:security>public</lj:security> <lj:reply-count>0</lj:reply-count> </item> <item> <guid isPermaLink='true'>https://huntleywood.livejournal.com/22031.html</guid> <pubDate>Sat, 21 Mar 2015 16:25:22 GMT</pubDate> <title>Calendar Photo Competition</title> <author>huntleywood</author> <link>https://huntleywood.livejournal.com/22031.html</link> <description>Following the success of our <a href="http://news.huntleywood.co.uk/16102.html" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">2014 calendar photo competition</a>, which saw some <a href="http://news.huntleywood.co.uk/tag/2015%20calendar" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">fabulous photos</a>, and the subsequent <a href="http://news.huntleywood.co.uk/21104.html" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">2015 calendar</a> which raised over &pound;130 for <a href="http://www.larpaid.com/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">LARP Aid</a>, we have decided to make the Huntley Wood Calendar Photo Competition an annual event.<br /><br />We will run a photo competition each month to find the best photo of an event at Huntley Wood during that month.&nbsp; The month&#39;s winning photograph will be featured here on our blog, then at the end of the year we will put all the best photos together into a calendar for the following year, which will be available to buy from December onwards.&nbsp; All profits from the sale of the calendar will go to <a href="http://www.larpaid.com/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">LARP Aid</a>, a live role playing based fund raising group who support various charities.<br /><div><br />If you are running or attending an event at Huntley Wood and wish to enter the photo competition, just send your photos to us at <a href="mailto:info@huntleywood.co.uk" target="_blank" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">info@huntleywood.co.uk</a> - full detalis of the competition are below....<br /><br /><b>Terms &amp; Conditions</b><br />Please read these carefully if you want to enter!</div><ul><br /><li>Photo submissions must be sent by email to <a href="mailto:info@huntleywood.co.uk" target="_blank" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">info@huntleywood.co.uk</a> with the subject &quot;Photo Competition&quot;.</li><br /><li>Photos must reach us by the end of the Friday following the last day of the month in which the event was held (eg for events held in January, photos must reach us by the end of the first Friday in February, etc).</li><br /><li>Photos should be accompanied by:<br />&nbsp; &nbsp; &gt; the name of the person submitting the photo;<br />&nbsp; &nbsp; &gt; where different, the name of the person who took the photo, to whom credit should be given;<br />&nbsp; &nbsp; &gt; the name and date of the event at which the photo was taken; and<br />&nbsp; &nbsp; &gt; a couple of sentences about the photo and the event.</li><br /><li>We reserve the right to crop the photo and edit the text submitted to make it suitable for use.</li><br /><li>By submitting a photograph to the competition you confirm that you own the copyright, or have permission to do so from the copyright owner, and that you/they grant us permission to use the photo and accompanying text.</li><br /><li>Photographs should be sent at the highest resolution possible, in order to be usable in the printed calendar.&nbsp; Photos which are too low resolution to be used in print will not be eligible for the competition.&nbsp; Please remember that a few mm will be cropped around the edge when the calendar is printed, and that some space on/under/next to the photo will be taken up with a text box, so please allow for this when cropping the photo.&nbsp; As a guide, the printing area in the calendar is likely to need a minimum of approximately 3500 x 3000 pixels, though slightly smaller images and different aspect ratios can be accommodated by the careful positioning of text, for example portrait photos can have text positioned alongside rather than underneath.</li><br /><li>As always, the judges&#39; decision is final!&nbsp; Where there are joint winners or excellent runners up, we may use multiple photos in one month.&nbsp; Where no photos are submitted or judged good enough for use in the calendar, we will use our own photograph of Huntley Wood for that month.</li><br /></ul>That&#39;s all the technical bits and pieces - we&#39;re looking forward to seeing yet more great photos, and to sharing them with you!</description> <comments>https://huntleywood.livejournal.com/22031.html?view=comments#comments</comments> <category>photo</category> <category>competition</category> <category>calendar</category> <category>charity</category> <category>lrp</category> <category>photos</category> <category>larp</category> <lj:security>public</lj:security> <lj:reply-count>0</lj:reply-count> </item> <item> <guid isPermaLink='true'>https://huntleywood.livejournal.com/21951.html</guid> <pubDate>Fri, 06 Mar 2015 11:57:38 GMT</pubDate> <title>Calendar raises £134 for LARP Aid & Large Breed Dog Rescue</title> <author>huntleywood</author> <link>https://huntleywood.livejournal.com/21951.html</link> <description>We&#39;re really pleased to announce that sales of our 2015 Calenar, featuring competition winning photographs from our montly competition in 2014, have raised &pound;134 for <a href="http://larpaid.com" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">LARP Aid</a>, a live roleplaying based fund raising group.<br /><br />LARP Aid support a different charity each year, and this year money is going towards <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Large-Breed-Dog-Rescue/163639413653735?fref=ts" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Large Breed Dog Rescue</a> <span class="">(in memory of Mick Bensted).<br /><br />They also run a yearly fund-raising event, the Unreality Tournament, which is next weekend (March 13-15) down in Essex, so if you&#39;re looking for something fun to do in the South-East, why not pop along and raise some money for a good cause?&nbsp; Details can be found <a href="http://www.larpaid.com/events/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">on their website</a>, and also <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/520846368049377/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">on facebook</a>.<br /><br />A few last calendars are still available to buy (&pound;5.99 each with all profits to LARP Aid), either at the Unreality Tournament next weekend or directly from us, either here at events or by mail (drop an email to <a href="mailto:info@huntleywood.co.uk" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">info@huntleywood.co.uk</a> for details if you want one posted to you), so we may raise a few more pounds yet.....<br /><br />I really enjoyed running the photo competition last year, and it&#39;s great that money raised has gone to a good cause, so I intend to keep the competition rolling for another year, and we&#39;ll produce a 2016 calendar also in support of LARP Aid.&nbsp; Details will be posted here soon!</span></description> <comments>https://huntleywood.livejournal.com/21951.html?view=comments#comments</comments> <category>photo</category> <category>calendar</category> <category>charity</category> <lj:security>public</lj:security> <lj:reply-count>0</lj:reply-count> </item> <item> <guid isPermaLink='true'>https://huntleywood.livejournal.com/21729.html</guid> <pubDate>Sun, 04 Jan 2015 22:18:00 GMT</pubDate> <title>Pictures - Snow and Wildlife</title> <author>huntleywood</author> <link>https://huntleywood.livejournal.com/21729.html</link> <description><p>We had some snow up here over New Year, followed by some nice bright winter days, so I took the opportunity to take a few snaps of the site in the snow as well as of some of the birds who have greatly appreciated the food availalbe in feeders on site during this weather.&nbsp; I&#39;ve posted the best ones below, and you can click on any of the images to get a much larger version - enjoy!<br /><br /><b>Greenvale:</b><br /><br /><a href="http://ic.pics.livejournal.com/huntleywood/29711828/43983/43983_original.jpg" target="_blank" target="_blank"><img alt="DSCN1286" height="375" src="https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/huntleywood/29711828/43983/43983_600.jpg" title="DSCN1286" width="500" fetchpriority="high" /></a><br /><i>View across the main camping field, looking roughtly northwards as you come up the main entrance road. You can see the double toilet block shell on the far side of the field which has gone up over winter, and which will be gradually fitted out during the course of this year.</i><br /><br /><a href="http://ic.pics.livejournal.com/huntleywood/29711828/44185/44185_original.jpg" target="_blank" target="_blank"><img alt="DSCN1289" height="375" src="https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/huntleywood/29711828/44185/44185_600.jpg" title="DSCN1289" width="500" loading="lazy" /></a><br /><i>Another view across the camping field, this time looking to the west.</i><br /><br /><a href="http://ic.pics.livejournal.com/huntleywood/29711828/44442/44442_original.jpg" target="_blank" target="_blank"><img alt="DSCN1293" height="375" src="https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/huntleywood/29711828/44442/44442_600.jpg" title="DSCN1293" width="500" loading="lazy" /></a><br /><i>And another, this time looking east, towards what has come to be known by some as &quot;Heckling Hill&quot;.</i><br /><br /><a href="http://ic.pics.livejournal.com/huntleywood/29711828/46787/46787_original.jpg" target="_blank" target="_blank"><img alt="DSCN1298" height="500" src="https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/huntleywood/29711828/46787/46787_600.jpg" title="DSCN1298" width="375" loading="lazy" /></a><br /><i>This close-up of Heckling Hill has a very pretty moon above it, hard to see in this pic but there is a closeup below.</i><br /><br /><a href="http://ic.pics.livejournal.com/huntleywood/29711828/44712/44712_original.jpg" target="_blank" target="_blank"><img alt="DSCN1295" height="375" src="https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/huntleywood/29711828/44712/44712_600.jpg" title="DSCN1295" width="500" loading="lazy" /></a><br /><i>That&#39;s no moon.... oh wait, yes it is!</i><br /><br /><a href="http://ic.pics.livejournal.com/huntleywood/29711828/45046/45046_original.jpg" target="_blank" target="_blank"><img alt="DSCN1299" height="375" src="https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/huntleywood/29711828/45046/45046_600.jpg" title="DSCN1299" width="500" loading="lazy" /></a><br /><i>Looking south again, towards the sun very low in the sky, the toilet blocks now visible on the right.</i><br /><br /><a href="http://ic.pics.livejournal.com/huntleywood/29711828/45272/45272_original.jpg" target="_blank" target="_blank"><img alt="DSCN1303" height="375" src="https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/huntleywood/29711828/45272/45272_600.jpg" title="DSCN1303" width="500" loading="lazy" /></a><br /><i>The top of Heckling Hill.</i><br /><br /><a href="http://ic.pics.livejournal.com/huntleywood/29711828/45332/45332_original.jpg" target="_blank" target="_blank"><img alt="DSCN1307" height="375" src="https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/huntleywood/29711828/45332/45332_600.jpg" title="DSCN1307" width="500" loading="lazy" /></a><br /><i>Sun through some of the Greenvale woodland.</i><br /><br /><b>Wyldwood:</b><br /><br /><a href="http://ic.pics.livejournal.com/huntleywood/29711828/39784/39784_original.jpg" target="_blank" target="_blank"><img alt="DSCN1231" height="375" src="https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/huntleywood/29711828/39784/39784_600.jpg" title="DSCN1231" width="500" loading="lazy" /></a><br /><i>The &quot;Green Hill&quot;, looking somewhat less green than normal!</i><br /><br /><a href="http://ic.pics.livejournal.com/huntleywood/29711828/40025/40025_original.jpg" target="_blank" target="_blank"><img alt="DSCN1232" height="375" src="https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/huntleywood/29711828/40025/40025_600.jpg" title="DSCN1232" width="500" loading="lazy" /></a><br /><i>Woodland in the snow.</i><br /><br /><a href="http://ic.pics.livejournal.com/huntleywood/29711828/40240/40240_original.jpg" target="_blank" target="_blank"><img alt="DSCN1236" height="375" src="https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/huntleywood/29711828/40240/40240_600.jpg" title="DSCN1236" width="500" loading="lazy" /></a><br /><i>Part of the Warren.</i><br /><br /><a href="http://ic.pics.livejournal.com/huntleywood/29711828/40952/40952_original.jpg" target="_blank" target="_blank"><img alt="DSCN1239" height="375" src="https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/huntleywood/29711828/40952/40952_600.jpg" title="DSCN1239" width="500" loading="lazy" /></a><br /><i>Trees silouhetted against the skyline.</i><br /><br /><a href="http://ic.pics.livejournal.com/huntleywood/29711828/41419/41419_original.jpg" target="_blank" target="_blank"><img alt="DSCN1244" height="375" src="https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/huntleywood/29711828/41419/41419_600.jpg" title="DSCN1244" width="500" loading="lazy" /></a><br /><i>Another view of the Warren.</i><br /><br /><a href="http://ic.pics.livejournal.com/huntleywood/29711828/41897/41897_original.jpg" target="_blank" target="_blank"><img alt="DSCN1257" height="375" src="https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/huntleywood/29711828/41897/41897_600.jpg" title="DSCN1257" width="500" loading="lazy" /></a><br /><i>This lake, like all the lakes on site, was almost completely frozen over at one point, though by the time this pic was taken it had mostly melted again.</i><br /><br /><b>Deepmere:</b><br /><br />I didn&#39;t have time to do a full walk around the Deepmere, but did manage to get a few shots in that direction from a viewpoint.<br /><br /><a href="http://ic.pics.livejournal.com/huntleywood/29711828/45631/45631_original.jpg" target="_blank" target="_blank"><img alt="DSCN1315" height="375" src="https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/huntleywood/29711828/45631/45631_600.jpg" title="DSCN1315" width="500" loading="lazy" /></a><br /><i>The mere in the snow.</i><br /><br /><a href="http://ic.pics.livejournal.com/huntleywood/29711828/39184/39184_original.jpg" target="_blank" target="_blank"><img alt="DSCN1219" height="375" src="https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/huntleywood/29711828/39184/39184_600.jpg" title="DSCN1219" width="500" loading="lazy" /></a><br /><i>On this image you can just about make out the remaining patch of water in the middle of the ice, which a number of animals seem to have visited, judging by the tracks leading out to it.</i><br /><br /><a href="http://ic.pics.livejournal.com/huntleywood/29711828/39493/39493_original.jpg" target="_blank" target="_blank"><img alt="DSCN1220" height="375" src="https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/huntleywood/29711828/39493/39493_600.jpg" title="DSCN1220" width="500" loading="lazy" /></a><br /><i>A view down the folly, which was as far as I got before turning back....</i><br /><br /><b>Birds:</b><br /><br />The guys at <a href="http://www.aurthurjonesimages.co.uk/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Arthur Jones Images</a> erected a bird feeding station on site in the summer, and have been encouraging birds to feed there to allow them to take their own wildlife photographs, as well as offering courses to others who want to learn how to do so.&nbsp; It&#39;s really lovely to see birds feeding there every time we pass, and I&#39;ve taken the opportunity to grab a few shots of my own.&nbsp; I&#39;m not the best with my camera - point and click is about the limit of my technical abilities, but the feeders make it possible to get remarkably close to the birds, and it has a good zoom so I managed to get some exciting pictures.&nbsp; If you&#39;d like to learn to take much better pictures of these lovely birds, contact <a href="http://www.aurthurjonesimages.co.uk/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Arthur Jones Images</a> to book a course!<br /><br /><a href="http://ic.pics.livejournal.com/huntleywood/29711828/42227/42227_original.jpg" target="_blank" target="_blank"><img alt="DSCN1267" height="375" src="https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/huntleywood/29711828/42227/42227_600.jpg" title="DSCN1267" width="500" loading="lazy" /></a><br /><i>The bird feeding station, in amongst the snow.&nbsp; Different feeders, as well as features such as the log pile, attract different birds, though keeping the squirrels off them is a constant battle!</i> <i> A feeding platform for birds of prey will be the next exciting addition.</i><br /><br /><a href="http://ic.pics.livejournal.com/huntleywood/29711828/42660/42660_original.jpg" target="_blank" target="_blank"><img alt="DSCN1274" height="375" src="https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/huntleywood/29711828/42660/42660_600.jpg" title="DSCN1274" width="500" loading="lazy" /></a><br /><i>A coal tit in amongst the trees, considering its options.</i><br /><br /><a href="http://ic.pics.livejournal.com/huntleywood/29711828/42772/42772_original.jpg" target="_blank" target="_blank"><img alt="DSCN1275" height="375" src="https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/huntleywood/29711828/42772/42772_600.jpg" title="DSCN1275" width="500" loading="lazy" /></a><br /><i>A blue tit on top of one of the feeders.</i><br /><br /><a href="http://ic.pics.livejournal.com/huntleywood/29711828/43199/43199_original.jpg" target="_blank" target="_blank"><img alt="DSCN1277" height="375" src="https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/huntleywood/29711828/43199/43199_600.jpg" title="DSCN1277" width="500" loading="lazy" /></a><br /><i>And another blue tit (or possibly the same one, it was hard to keep track!) in amongst the bushes.</i><br /><br /><a href="http://ic.pics.livejournal.com/huntleywood/29711828/37764/37764_original.jpg" target="_blank" target="_blank"><img alt="DSCN1191" height="375" src="https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/huntleywood/29711828/37764/37764_600.jpg" title="DSCN1191" width="500" loading="lazy" /></a><br /><i>A Great Tit, on a different feeder.</i><br /><br /><a href="http://ic.pics.livejournal.com/huntleywood/29711828/43408/43408_original.jpg" target="_blank" target="_blank"><img alt="DSCN1280" height="375" src="https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/huntleywood/29711828/43408/43408_600.jpg" title="DSCN1280" width="500" loading="lazy" /></a><br /><i>A cheeky robin, puffed up to keep warm.&nbsp; </i><br /><br />We also have some bird feeders in our garden, and I thought I&#39;d share these pictures which I took there....<br /><br /><a href="http://ic.pics.livejournal.com/huntleywood/29711828/38541/38541_original.jpg" target="_blank" target="_blank"><img alt="DSCN1207" height="375" src="https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/huntleywood/29711828/38541/38541_600.jpg" title="DSCN1207" width="500" loading="lazy" /></a><br /><i>Our collection of bird feeders - you can see what seems to be a young Great Spotted Woodpecker and, behind it investigating a hanging shelter, a Coal Tit.</i><br /><br /><a href="http://ic.pics.livejournal.com/huntleywood/29711828/38832/38832_original.jpg" target="_blank" target="_blank"><img alt="DSCN1212" height="375" src="https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/huntleywood/29711828/38832/38832_600.jpg" title="DSCN1212" width="500" loading="lazy" /></a><br /><i>And a close-up of the Woodpecker, this time sharing with a Great Tit.....</i><br /><br />As well as bird feeders, we will also soon be putting up some bird boxes of various sorts around site, as well as the ones we already have in our garden, to help encourage nesting.<br /><br />The following pics were taken somewhat earlier in the year, but this seemed like a good opportunity to share them anyway, since they&#39;re of yet more birds.<br /><br /><a href="http://ic.pics.livejournal.com/huntleywood/29711828/37586/37586_original.jpg" target="_blank" target="_blank"><img alt="DSCN1172" height="375" src="https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/huntleywood/29711828/37586/37586_600.jpg" title="DSCN1172" width="500" loading="lazy" /></a><br /><i>This Grey Heron regularly visits site, and is beautiful to watch.&nbsp; Keep your eyes peeled near the lakes early in the morning if you want to see him!</i><br /><br /><a href="http://ic.pics.livejournal.com/huntleywood/29711828/38058/38058_original.jpg" target="_blank" target="_blank"><img alt="DSCN1195" height="375" src="https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/huntleywood/29711828/38058/38058_600.jpg" title="DSCN1195" width="500" loading="lazy" /></a><br /><i>Here he is again, preening....</i><br /><br /><a href="http://ic.pics.livejournal.com/huntleywood/29711828/38211/38211_original.jpg" target="_blank" target="_blank"><img alt="DSCN1202" height="375" src="https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/huntleywood/29711828/38211/38211_600.jpg" title="DSCN1202" width="500" loading="lazy" /></a><br /><i>I couldn&#39;t get a particularly good shot of these unusual ducks, but managed to identify them as Eurasian Teals (also called &quot;Common Teals&quot;, but they don&#39;t look very common to me!).&nbsp; </i><br /><br />Finally, a very different sort of wildlife.....<br /><br /><a href="http://ic.pics.livejournal.com/huntleywood/29711828/46054/46054_original.jpg" target="_blank" target="_blank"><img alt="DSCN1317" height="375" src="https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/huntleywood/29711828/46054/46054_600.jpg" title="DSCN1317" width="500" loading="lazy" /></a><br /><i>This bright orange fungus caught my attention, as it stood out very clearly against the white snowy background.</i><br /><br />That&#39;s all for now!</p></description> <comments>https://huntleywood.livejournal.com/21729.html?view=comments#comments</comments> <category>winter</category> <category>photos</category> <category>snow</category> <category>wildlife</category> <lj:security>public</lj:security> <lj:reply-count>0</lj:reply-count> </item> <item> <guid isPermaLink='true'>https://huntleywood.livejournal.com/21325.html</guid> <pubDate>Fri, 02 Jan 2015 16:37:41 GMT</pubDate> <title>New Year Update</title> <author>huntleywood</author> <link>https://huntleywood.livejournal.com/21325.html</link> <description>2015 is upon us, and I thought this was a good time do a bit of an update about a few things that are going on at Huntley Wood over the winter.<br /><br />Though the warmer months are our busy season in terms of customers, the winter is when we get all our maintenance and forestry work done, so if anything it is even busier from our point of view. We have already done a great deal of building maintenance work during December on the cabin and toilet block in the Wyldwood, repairing loose or sticking taps and leaking showers, re-oiling wooden counter tops to keep them in good condition, replacing silicone in the kitchen and toilet block so that everything stays water tight for the next year, and so on.&nbsp; The number of small jobs that need doing is always amazing, and it&#39;s difficult to get them done while the buildings are in use so this is the best time of year to catch up on them all, to ensure that everything is in tip top condition for the beginning of this year&#39;s season.&nbsp; We&#39;ve also done some tidying up jobs, for example giving brooms, mops, etc, somwhere to live that gets them off the floor to make the space inside the cupboards more useable.&nbsp; We have also finally had a chance to complete some minor cosmetic jobs that we have wanted to do since the buildings were finished, but have simply never had the time to do. This includes finally finishing the painting and decorating inside the cupboards so that they match the rest of the cabins.<br /><br /><img alt="20141219_160928" height="281" src="https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/huntleywood/29711828/35934/35934_600.jpg" title="20141219_160928" width="500" fetchpriority="high" /><br /><i>Brooms, mops, lanterns and outdoor collapsible bins are now stored off the floor, and the interior of the storage cubpards has been painted to match the rest of the buildings.</i><br /><br />Also, the deep screw holes in the external beams have been plugged with wooden pegs, giving a much neater finish which mimics traditional carpentry methods in which beams would have been jointed with pegs rather than screws, and similarly on the inside we have capped the corresponding internal screw holes with metal covers to mimic large old fashioned nail heads.&nbsp; These sorts of details don&#39;t make a huge difference to the appearance of the cabins, but do give the place a slightly neater, more finished feel.<br /><br /><img alt="20141219_085107" height="446" src="https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/huntleywood/29711828/35242/35242_600.jpg" title="20141219_085107" width="250" loading="lazy" /><img alt="20141219_085150" height="446" src="https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/huntleywood/29711828/35557/35557_600.jpg" title="20141219_085150" width="250" loading="lazy" /><br /><i>Exterior (left) and interior (right) wooden beams have had their screw holes filled and covered, giving a more authentic, finished feel to the buildings.</i><br /><br />We are also taking the opportunity to make some small enhancements to the cabins. We are constructing black-out boards for all the windows, for groups who want to be able to shut out the daylight, whether that&#39;s to get a good night&#39;s sleep, to use projection equipment during the day, or for atmospheric reasons.&nbsp; So far we&#39;ve only completed our first prototype board, but that seems to be working quite well - we will cover the edges in black felt, both for the appearance and also to help them slide in and out of the window reveals more easily (this one nearly got stuck!), and by the first event of the spring we should have one of these for each window in the cabin.<br /><br /><img alt="20141219_164929" src="https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/huntleywood/29711828/36185/36185_600.jpg" title="20141219_164929" loading="lazy" /><br /><i>Prototype blackout board in one of the cabin windows.</i><br /><br />We are also hoping to make improvements to our banner hanging system, which allows groups to hang banners or flags around the walls inside the cabins without damaging our woodwork with staples or pins. So far this has relied upon pegless elastic washing line supported by regular cup hooks, but we are now experimenting with wooden batons held in place with strong magnets, which would avoid the issue of the elastic sagging under the weight of too much fabric. So far it is working reasonably well, but is probably not strong enough to hold thick, heavy fabric, or to withstand a good tug, for example if someone were to fall against the hanging, so we&#39;re investigating ways to reinforce it.&nbsp; Again so far we have only done one prototype, and hope to upgrade the whole cabin to this system as soon as we&#39;ve figured out the best way to make it work!<br /><br /><img alt="20141219_170231" height="281" src="https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/huntleywood/29711828/36400/36400_600.jpg" title="20141219_170231" width="500" loading="lazy" /><br /><i>A wooden baton, with metal washers attached along one side.</i><br /><img alt="20141219_170534" height="281" src="https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/huntleywood/29711828/36670/36670_600.jpg" title="20141219_170534" width="500" loading="lazy" /><br /><i>In the recess where the banner hanging system goes, magnets are attached at the same spacing as the washers on the baton.</i><br /><img alt="20141219_170612" src="https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/huntleywood/29711828/36909/36909_600.jpg" title="20141219_170612" loading="lazy" /><br /><i>The baton attaches to the magnets, holding in place any fabric looped over the top of it.&nbsp; It is currently working, but not strong enough, so we&#39;re investigating options to reinforce it.</i><br /><br />One thing we still haven&#39;t managed to get sorted out around the cabins is the grass at the front of the buildings.&nbsp; This receives so much footfall during the high use part of the year that all the grass has been killed, in spite of the mesh we laid to reinforce it.&nbsp; We plan to give this one more go this year, so will be re-seeding a dense layer of grass with plenty of fertilser, then will unfortunately have to fence the area off for a while to allow the grass to get properly established before it&#39;s walked on.&nbsp; By that point in theory the grass roots will have grown into and around the mesh forming a very strong and stable base, which will hopefully withstand a lot of wear and tear - if that doesn&#39;t work, we may have to give up and gravel the area, though we are very much hoping to avoid that.....<br /><br /><img alt="20141219_153349" height="600" src="https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/huntleywood/29711828/35671/35671_600.jpg" title="20141219_153349" width="337" loading="lazy" /><br /><i>Outside the front of the cabins - still muddy!</i><br /><br />Throughout January and February we will also be doing a lot of forestry work - each year we clear the woodland of dead fall and remove branches or trees which have become dangerous during the winter storms, which then provides timber both for fire wood and other projects around site, and we also need to do a significant amount of maintenance work to keep paths and clearings open and accessible, as well as continuing our programme of rhododendron removal and eradication.&nbsp; If you want to know why we have it in for the often very pretty rhododendron, you can read a blog post by our forester on <a href="http://huntleywood.livejournal.com/16133.html" target="_blank">The Problem of Rhododendron</a> from February last year, which explains the problems it causes, and what we&#39;re trying to do about it.<br /><br />We are also continuing other aspects of our ecological work - we have a number of bat boxes, kindly made for us by a friend of a friend who does woodwork in his spare time, from offcuts of oak left over from the building work.&nbsp; We will be putting these up around site in order to encourage bats to breed.&nbsp; These will be followed soon by a variety of types of bird boxes to encourage everything from tiny song birds such as blue tits and robins, to our larger residents such as owls.<br /><br /><img alt="20141229_102155" height="281" src="https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/huntleywood/29711828/37171/37171_600.jpg" title="20141229_102155" width="500" loading="lazy" /><br /><i>Bat boxes, to be erected around site, soon to be followed by a variety of bird boxes.</i><br /><br />So all in all our &quot;quiet&quot; season is actually quite hectic!</description> <comments>https://huntleywood.livejournal.com/21325.html?view=comments#comments</comments> <category>improvements</category> <category>winter</category> <category>customers</category> <category>forestry</category> <category>maintenance</category> <category>photos</category> <category>buildings</category> <category>kitchen</category> <category>rhody</category> <lj:security>public</lj:security> <lj:reply-count>0</lj:reply-count> </item> <item> <guid isPermaLink='true'>https://huntleywood.livejournal.com/21104.html</guid> <pubDate>Thu, 18 Dec 2014 13:30:13 GMT</pubDate> <title>Calendars</title> <author>huntleywood</author> <link>https://huntleywood.livejournal.com/21104.html</link> <description>We&#39;re really excited to say that our 2015 calendars have just arrived!<br /><br /><img alt="HWCalendar" height="375" src="https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/huntleywood/29711828/34867/34867_600.jpg" title="HWCalendar" width="500" fetchpriority="high" /><br /><br />They look absolutely great. :)&nbsp; Our thanks again to everyone who entered our photo competition throughout 2014, and our congratulations to all the winners whose photos are featured in the calendar.<br /><br />We are selling these calendars for &pound;5.99, with all profits from the sale going to <a href="http://www.larpaid.com/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">LARP Aid</a>, a live role playing based fund raising group, who support a variety of charities. <br /><br />Postage is an extra &pound;1.25, making the total cost &pound;7.24 if you would like one posted out to you.&nbsp; Alternatively, if you can wait until the new year, you can pick one up in person at the fairs we will be attending, including <a href="http://www.live-roleplaying.co.uk/Whats-Your-Game/Whats-Your-Game.html" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">What&#39;s Your Game</a> and the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/341801009323372/?ref=ts&amp;fref=ts" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">LARP Awareness Party</a>. <br /><br />If you would like to buy a calendar and have it posted to you, you need to send an email to info@huntleywood.co.uk, giving your name, address and the number of calendars you would like.&nbsp; We will then send you payment information, and will do a run to the post office once a week to post out calendars which have been ordered, meaning you should get your calendar within 7 working days of ordering. <br /><br />Excitingly, the calendars arrived in time to make the last post before Christmas - if you would like one posted out to you to arrive before Christmas Day, we need to have your information and payment (which can be made by bank transfer) before midnight on Friday 19th (ie the end of tomorrow), to allow us to post them on Saturday, which is the last day for Christmas Post, so don&#39;t delay! ;)</description> <comments>https://huntleywood.livejournal.com/21104.html?view=comments#comments</comments> <category>christmas</category> <category>competition</category> <category>calendar</category> <category>charity</category> <lj:security>public</lj:security> <lj:reply-count>0</lj:reply-count> </item> <item> <guid isPermaLink='true'>https://huntleywood.livejournal.com/20940.html</guid> <pubDate>Sun, 14 Dec 2014 16:18:23 GMT</pubDate> <title>Photo Competition Winner: November 2014</title> <author>huntleywood</author> <link>https://huntleywood.livejournal.com/20940.html</link> <description><i>Each month throughout 2014 we are asking those who have attended events at Huntley Wood to send us their photos as part of a competition to find photographs to use in our 2015 calendar. The calendar will be available for sale at the end of the year, with all profits going to <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/LARP-Aid/117780841660053" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">LARP Aid</a>.&nbsp; For more information about the competition and how to enter, see <a href="http://huntleywood.livejournal.com/16102.html" target="_blank">this blog post</a>.</i><br /><br />Our last photo competition winner of 2014:<br /><br /><img alt="TwistedTales" height="600" src="https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/huntleywood/29711828/34788/34788_600.jpg" title="TwistedTales" width="337" fetchpriority="high" /><br /><i>&quot;Are you my mummy?&nbsp; Come play with me...&quot;</i><br /><br /><b>Submitted by:</b> Nic Doran<br /><b>Credit:</b> Flick Hall; <b>Model:</b> Grace Currah<br /><div><b>Event:</b> <a href="http://twisted-tales.org.uk/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Twisted Tales</a> &quot;Beginnings&quot;<br /><b>Date:</b> 31 October - 2 November 2014; <b>Site:</b> Wyldwood<br /><br />A departure from our normal style of photograph, this month&#39;s winner is from a hallowe&#39;en horror event &quot;Twisted Tales&quot;, who run Grimm Faery tale events with a distinctly adult theme and horrific feel.&nbsp; This young lady looks like she&#39;s getting very into her role, and if I ran into her in the dark at Hunltey Wood, I&#39;d certainly be pretty scared!&nbsp; By the sounds of it, so were the players, who we could occasionally hear&nbsp; jumping out of their skins during the course of the weekend....&nbsp; Another new system, the first Twisted Tales event was a great success, and we wish them every success with their future events.</div></description> <comments>https://huntleywood.livejournal.com/20940.html?view=comments#comments</comments> <category>photo</category> <category>calendar</category> <category>charity</category> <category>lrp</category> <category>2015 calendar</category> <category>horror</category> <category>live role playing</category> <category>competition</category> <category>photos</category> <category>halloween</category> <category>larp</category> <category>wyldwood</category> <lj:security>public</lj:security> <lj:reply-count>0</lj:reply-count> </item> <item> <guid isPermaLink='true'>https://huntleywood.livejournal.com/20658.html</guid> <pubDate>Sat, 15 Nov 2014 18:09:09 GMT</pubDate> <title>Photo Competition Winner: October 2014</title> <author>huntleywood</author> <link>https://huntleywood.livejournal.com/20658.html</link> <description><i>Each month throughout 2014 we are asking those who have attended events at Huntley Wood to send us their photos as part of a competition to find photographs to use in our 2015 calendar. The calendar will be available for sale at the end of the year, with all profits going to <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/LARP-Aid/117780841660053" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">LARP Aid</a>.&nbsp; For more information about the competition and how to enter, see <a href="http://huntleywood.livejournal.com/16102.html" target="_blank">this blog post</a>.</i><br /><br />I&#39;m a little late announcing this month&#39;s winner - that&#39;s because I actually took a little time off recently, which is a somewhat unusual occurrance!&nbsp; It was also a very difficult competition to judge, with a number of great pictures being sent in.&nbsp; In the end, I picked this one:<br /><br /><img alt="Winner" height="334" src="https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/huntleywood/29711828/34336/34336_600.jpg" title="Winner" width="500" fetchpriority="high" /><br /><br /><b>Submitted by:</b> Will Power<br /><b>Credit:</b> Beth Dooner<div><b>Event:</b> &quot;The Freeborn Storm&quot;, an <a href="http://www.profounddecisions.co.uk/empire" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Empire</a> player event run by <a href="http://www.heartofpargonlarp.co.uk/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Heart of Pargon</a>.<br /><b>Date:</b> 3-5 October <b>Site:</b> Wyldwood</div><br />This is Heart of Pargon&#39;s second winning photograph this year, their first being <a href="http://huntleywood.livejournal.com/19317.html" target="_blank">in August</a>.<br /><br />As I said, this was a tough competition to judge, and there were several photos I would have loved to pick, but I just couldn&#39;t resist the combination of the dramatic pose of the chap in this image, who has presumably just felled the orc who is collapsing at his feet, and the soft focus background with fantastic light which makes the whole thing look quite other-worldly.&nbsp; These guys could have stepped straight off the screen in Lord of the Rings.&nbsp; It&#39;s a great shot, so congratulations to Beth!<br /><br />November&#39;s photo competition will be the last of the year, since we have no events in December.&nbsp; Instead I will pick a great photo of the site to use.&nbsp; I am also hoping to get the calendar finalised and printed up early in December, so it&#39;s ready in plenty of time for Christmas.&nbsp; I&#39;ll post an update as soon as it is available to buy, and don&#39;t forget all profits will be passed along to the great guys at <a href="http://www.larpaid.com" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">LARP Aid</a>, who this year are supporting the mental health charity <a href="http://www.mind.org.uk/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Mind</a>.</description> <comments>https://huntleywood.livejournal.com/20658.html?view=comments#comments</comments> <category>photo</category> <category>calendar</category> <category>charity</category> <category>lrp</category> <category>2015 calendar</category> <category>competition</category> <category>photos</category> <category>larp</category> <lj:security>public</lj:security> <lj:reply-count>0</lj:reply-count> </item> <item> <guid isPermaLink='true'>https://huntleywood.livejournal.com/20359.html</guid> <pubDate>Fri, 24 Oct 2014 10:40:58 GMT</pubDate> <title>Event Services</title> <author>huntleywood</author> <link>https://huntleywood.livejournal.com/20359.html</link> <description>We have just updated the <a href="http://huntleywood.co.uk/events/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Activities &amp; Events</a> page on our website, to add a list of local and national firms who might be of assistance if you are running an event here at Huntley Wood. <br /><br />At present the list has tent and marquee hire companies, portaloo hire, and also several companies offering a range of external catering and bars.<br /><br />If you know of or run a service which you think might be of interest to anyone runing an event at Huntley Wood, and would like a link added to the list, please feel free to <a href="http://huntleywood.co.uk/contact/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">get in touch</a>.&nbsp;</description> <comments>https://huntleywood.livejournal.com/20359.html?view=comments#comments</comments> <category>catering</category> <category>event services</category> <category>services</category> <category>bars</category> <category>event organisation</category> <category>events</category> <lj:security>public</lj:security> <lj:reply-count>0</lj:reply-count> </item> <item> <guid isPermaLink='true'>https://huntleywood.livejournal.com/20021.html</guid> <pubDate>Mon, 20 Oct 2014 20:37:08 GMT</pubDate> <title>Photo Competition Winner: September 2014</title> <author>huntleywood</author> <link>https://huntleywood.livejournal.com/20021.html</link> <description><i>Each month throughout 2014 we are asking those who have attended events at Huntley Wood to send us their photos as part of a competition to find photographs to use in our 2015 calendar. The calendar will be available for sale at the end of the year, with all profits going to <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/LARP-Aid/117780841660053" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">LARP Aid</a>.&nbsp; For more information about the competition and how to enter, see <a href="http://huntleywood.livejournal.com/16102.html" target="_blank">this blog post</a>.</i><br /><br />I&#39;m really pleased to be able to announce the winner of September&#39;s photo competition:<br /><br /><img alt="Kismet" height="389" src="https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/huntleywood/29711828/33928/33928_600.jpg" title="Kismet" width="500" fetchpriority="high" /><br /><br /><b>Credit:</b> Tom Garnett<div><b>Event:</b> <a href="http://majesticoaklrp.co.uk/vale/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">The Vale - Expedition 4</a><br /><b>Date:</b> 5-7 September <b>Site:</b> Greenvale</div><br />Tom was also the winner of our <a href="http://huntleywood.livejournal.com/18994.html" target="_blank">July photo competition</a>, with a very different entry.&nbsp; He says:<br /><br /><i>&quot;Father Kismet, Chosen of the Rat Mother preaches to Her children atop Heckling Hill.&quot;<br /><br />As the sun began to set on the Saturday of the fourth event of The Vale, Kismet went alone to the Duke&#39;s Camp, and from the hill overlooking it, invited them to discuss with him the worship of the Mother, and to hear him preach on the subject.<br /><br />This was interesting to me for three reasons - firstly, it was a excellent example of roleplay between the factions, at a game many expected to contain nothing but PvP combat. Secondly, there was a combination of amazing light, and this fascinating character in awesome kit taking advantage of it... and thirdly, I got into quite a precarious position trying to find the best angle to shoot this one from, halfway up a scree slope - and apparently everyone worried I was going to fall.</i><br /><br />I really love the quality of light in this photo - I know the slope it was taken on well (and Tom is very brave for scrambling up it, camera in hand!), and can imagine the sun, heading for the horizon opposite, illuminating the field below and casting long shadows.&nbsp; And in spite of the mask, the character&#39;s expression is displayed not just in his face but in his very expressive body language.....<br /><br />Congratulations to Tom on another great photo!</description> <comments>https://huntleywood.livejournal.com/20021.html?view=comments#comments</comments> <category>photo</category> <category>calendar</category> <category>lrp</category> <category>2015 calendar</category> <category>greenvale</category> <category>live role playing</category> <category>competition</category> <category>photos</category> <category>larp</category> <lj:security>public</lj:security> <lj:reply-count>0</lj:reply-count> </item> <item> <guid isPermaLink='true'>https://huntleywood.livejournal.com/19732.html</guid> <pubDate>Wed, 01 Oct 2014 22:15:21 GMT</pubDate> <title>Schools Mailshot & Events Organisation</title> <author>huntleywood</author> <link>https://huntleywood.livejournal.com/19732.html</link> <description>Having finally added all the flyers for local activity providers who can entertain and educate groups who come to Huntley Wood, our schools mailshot got posted earlier in the week and should have arrived today.&nbsp; The picture below shows the flyers in question (click on the image for a larger version, where if you zoom in you might even be able to read them!).<br /><br /><a href="http://ic.pics.livejournal.com/huntleywood/29711828/33710/33710_original.jpg" target="_blank" target="_blank"><img alt="Flyers" height="281" src="https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/huntleywood/29711828/33710/33710_600.jpg" title="Flyers" width="500" fetchpriority="high" /></a><br /><br />We also included information regarding our new events organisation service.&nbsp; For groups who would prefer not to put together their own activities during their stay at Huntley Wood, our events organiser can draw on a range of experienced activity providers including, but not limited to, those whose flyers are pictured above, as well as arranging add-on services such as marquee hire and catering.<br /><br />For more info, see the <a href="http://huntleywood.co.uk/events/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Activities and Events</a> page on our website.</description> <comments>https://huntleywood.livejournal.com/19732.html?view=comments#comments</comments> <category>website</category> <category>event organisation</category> <category>education</category> <lj:security>public</lj:security> <lj:reply-count>0</lj:reply-count> </item> <item> <guid isPermaLink='true'>https://huntleywood.livejournal.com/19669.html</guid> <pubDate>Tue, 23 Sep 2014 19:40:58 GMT</pubDate> <title>Schools Mailshot</title> <author>huntleywood</author> <link>https://huntleywood.livejournal.com/19669.html</link> <description>This evening I have signed a lot of letters, and stuffed a lot of envelopes with our brochure, facilities information and price lists, as part of a mailshot we&#39;re sending out to 100 schools across the North Midlands, with the aim of encouraging educational use of our fantastic sites. <br /><br /><img alt="mailshot" height="281" src="https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/huntleywood/29711828/33236/33236_600.jpg" title="mailshot" width="500" fetchpriority="high" /><br /><br />As well as details of Huntley Wood, the mailshot will also contain information from a range of local activity providers, who specialise in everything from bushcraft and ecology to living history, traditional crafts and photography. We are also including details of our new event organisation service, for those who would like to come to Huntley Wood and engage in a range of activities, without the hassle of arranging their own event.&nbsp; This information will be going up on our website soon, too, so watch this space for further updates....<br /><br />Because it&#39;s going out to schools, so will be read by teachers, I&#39;m having flashbacks to my school days and have double-checked everything - I even had to re-print a letter I realised was signed &quot;yours sincerely&quot; when it should have been &quot;yours faithfully&quot;!&nbsp; In spite of this I can guarantee there will still be a typo or spelling mistake somewhere....&nbsp; Here&#39;s hoping they&#39;re feeling generous and I don&#39;t get the mailshot sent back with errors underlined in red ;)<br /><br />The last leaflets to be included should be here by the end of the week, and the mailshot will hopefully be in the post at the beginning of next week, arriving with schools by early October.&nbsp; If your school doesn&#39;t receive a mailshot, but you would like one, drop us an email to <a href="mailto:info@huntleywood.co.uk" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">info@huntleywood.co.uk</a> with your postal address and we&#39;ll get one in the post to you, too!</description> <comments>https://huntleywood.livejournal.com/19669.html?view=comments#comments</comments> <category>event organisation</category> <category>marketing</category> <category>education</category> <category>advertising</category> <lj:security>public</lj:security> <lj:reply-count>0</lj:reply-count> </item> <item> <guid isPermaLink='true'>https://huntleywood.livejournal.com/19317.html</guid> <pubDate>Mon, 15 Sep 2014 17:54:40 GMT</pubDate> <title>Photo Competition Winner: August 2014</title> <author>huntleywood</author> <link>https://huntleywood.livejournal.com/19317.html</link> <description><i>Each month throughout 2014 we are asking those who have attended events at Huntley Wood to send us their photos as part of a competition to find photographs to use in our 2015 calendar. The calendar will be available for sale at the end of the year, with all profits going to <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/LARP-Aid/117780841660053" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">LARP Aid</a>.&nbsp; For more information about the competition and how to enter, see <a href="http://huntleywood.livejournal.com/16102.html" target="_blank">this blog post</a>.</i><br /><br />Well, August has positively flown by, and it&#39;s already time for our next photo competition winner:<br /><br /><img alt="IMAG0676" height="670" src="https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/huntleywood/29711828/32828/32828_600.jpg" title="IMAG0676" width="500" fetchpriority="high" /><br /><br /><b>Credit:</b> Will Power<br /><div><b>Event:</b> <a href="http://www.heartofpargonlarp.co.uk/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Heart of Pargon: Darkest Night - Saga</a><br /><b>Date:</b> 28 July - 4 August <b>Site:</b> Greenvale</div><br />Darkest Night was the <span class="">annual, 24 hour time in, week long &quot;Saga&quot; event of the LRP group Heart of Pargon.&nbsp; </span>Although the event was mainly based in the Wyldwood, the group also used both the Greenvale and the Deepmere for parts of the event, and this particular shot shows the main valley in the Greenvale from one of my favourite viewpoints on site.&nbsp; One of my very favourite things about Huntley Wood is how enclosed and secluded it is, and even when looking out over vistas such as this one, it&#39;s very rare that you get a view of anything beyond our borders - everything visible in this photo is part of the Greenvale - which makes the place ideal for those looking to immerse themselves in a different world.&nbsp; You can be sure that you won&#39;t round a corner to find a modern housing estate, electricity pylons, or a factory or power station in the background.&nbsp; The costume being worn by the person in this photo certainly adds to that other-worldly feel, and I love the dramatic pose, with equally dramatic sky and vista behind.&nbsp; Sadly, it will have to be cropped somewhat to fit into the final calendar, but I thought you might as well see the whole thing here, in all its glory!</description> <comments>https://huntleywood.livejournal.com/19317.html?view=comments#comments</comments> <category>photo</category> <category>calendar</category> <category>lrp</category> <category>2015 calendar</category> <category>greenvale</category> <category>live role playing</category> <category>competition</category> <category>photos</category> <category>larp</category> <lj:security>public</lj:security> <lj:reply-count>1</lj:reply-count> </item> <item> <guid isPermaLink='true'>https://huntleywood.livejournal.com/18994.html</guid> <pubDate>Sat, 23 Aug 2014 10:04:31 GMT</pubDate> <title>Photo Competition Winner: July 2014</title> <author>huntleywood</author> <link>https://huntleywood.livejournal.com/18994.html</link> <description><i>Each month throughout 2014 we are asking those who have attended events at Huntley Wood to send us their photos as part of a competition to find photographs to use in our 2015 calendar. The calendar will be available for sale at the end of the year, with all profits going to <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/LARP-Aid/117780841660053" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">LARP Aid</a>.&nbsp; For more information about the competition and how to enter, see <a href="http://huntleywood.livejournal.com/16102.html" target="_blank">this blog post</a>.</i><br /><br />Since the end of July I have been variously away (on a rather rare holiday), ill, or moving house - often some combination of 2 or even all 3 of those things at once!&nbsp; So the judging of the photo competition got rather badly delayed - apologies to all those kind enough to have sent in photos.&nbsp; But, better late than never as they always say, so without further ado here is the winner of July&#39;s competition:<br /><br /><img alt="TomG-July-Dark_Colony" height="388.33333333333337" src="https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/huntleywood/29711828/32552/32552_600.jpg" title="TomG-July-Dark_Colony" width="500" fetchpriority="high" /><br /><br /><b>Credit:</b> Tom Garnett<br /><div><b>Event:</b> <a href="http://www.darkcolony.co.uk" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Dark Colony</a><br /><b>Date:</b> 11-13 July 2014 <b>Site:</b> Wyldwood</div><br />Tom says:<br /><i>&quot;I took [this photo] at the first Dark Colony event, early in the morning of the 13th of July - and it shows one of the Unity colony&#39;s newly awakened doctors clutching his second cup of coffee, as he tries to put aside the horrors of the previous night, and prepare himself for whatever the day will bring.</i><i>&quot;</i><br /><br />Dark Colony is a new LRP system, and this was their first ever event which we were honoured to host.&nbsp; As with last month&#39;s winner, this is not a fantasy or medieval event, but a futuristic one, and it&#39;s again great to see how the site and buildings can be used effectively in a number of settings.&nbsp; Obviously this picture has been enhanced [EDIT: I have been corrected by the photographer.&nbsp; Amazingly, the only post-click effects were to alter the colour and cropping, the defocussed background was entirely done with the camera - I&#39;m even more impressed!], and I&#39;m very fond of the almost painting-like quality of the background, contrasted against the sharp photograph feel of the foreground.&nbsp; It&#39;s extremely atmospheric.....&nbsp; I think it&#39;s also our first black and white submission, and in this context I think that works really well.&nbsp; As well as producing great photos, of which you can see more on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/garnett.tom/media_set?set=a.887846457909987.1073741893.100000539247809&amp;type=1&amp;l=7ae3935240" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Tom&#39;s facebook album</a>, by all accounts the event went very well and we&#39;re looking forward to welcoming Dark Colony back in 2015.</description> <comments>https://huntleywood.livejournal.com/18994.html?view=comments#comments</comments> <category>photo</category> <category>calendar</category> <category>lrp</category> <category>2015 calendar</category> <category>sci fi</category> <category>competition</category> <category>photos</category> <category>winners</category> <category>wyldwood</category> <lj:security>public</lj:security> <lj:reply-count>0</lj:reply-count> </item> <item> <guid isPermaLink='true'>https://huntleywood.livejournal.com/18723.html</guid> <pubDate>Mon, 14 Jul 2014 20:17:06 GMT</pubDate> <title>Draycott Summer Fayre</title> <author>huntleywood</author> <link>https://huntleywood.livejournal.com/18723.html</link> <description>We had a fantastic time yesterday at our local Summer Fayre in Draycott, which is held each year to raise funds for the maintenance of St Margaret&#39;s Church.<br /><br />We set up a stall in the field, and I&#39;m really pleased I took along my &quot;Baker Tent&quot; as the walls helped shield us from the wind, which otherwise would have blown everything away!&nbsp; Having a stall which mostly consisted of pieces of paper made for a difficult life on such a windy day, but thanks to a few drawing pins and the loan of some sticky tape from John, who organises the fayre, I managed to get everything more or less stuck down....<br /><br /><a href="http://ic.pics.livejournal.com/huntleywood/29711828/30296/30296_original.jpg" target="_blank" target="_blank"><img alt="20140713_121908" height="280.83333333333337" src="https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/huntleywood/29711828/30296/30296_600.jpg" title="20140713_121908" width="500.0000000000001" fetchpriority="high" /></a><br /><i>Our stall, just about holding together in the wind....</i><br /><br /><a href="http://ic.pics.livejournal.com/huntleywood/29711828/30555/30555_original.jpg" target="_blank" target="_blank"><img alt="20140713_122001" height="500.0000000000001" src="https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/huntleywood/29711828/30555/30555_600.jpg" title="20140713_122001" width="280.83333333333337" loading="lazy" /></a><br /><i>A selfie, since there was no-one else around at the time to hold the camera, and later in the day I was too busy to ask anyone!</i><br /><br />Although it was somewhat breezy, I think overall the wind helped as, despite a pretty dismal start to the day, it turned out to be really quite beautifully sunny and without the wind might have been a bit too hot.<br /><br />Next to our stand, local greenwood artist <a href="http://www.anthonyhammond.co.uk/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Anthony Hammond</a> spent the day carving some oak which we donated - sadly the oak tree in question was damaged in the winter and had to be taken down for safety reasons, but it was great to see such good use being made of the wood.&nbsp; It was also fabulous to watch Anthony at work - though I was too busy to sit and watch the whole thing I did pop my nose next door as often as I could.&nbsp; Below are some shots of the work in progress.....<br /><br /><a href="http://ic.pics.livejournal.com/huntleywood/29711828/31664/31664_original.jpg" target="_blank" target="_blank"><img alt="20140713_122753" src="https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/huntleywood/29711828/31664/31664_600.jpg" title="20140713_122753" loading="lazy" /></a><br />With just a few cuts, Anthony outlines the shape of the sculpture.<br /><br /><a href="http://ic.pics.livejournal.com/huntleywood/29711828/32017/32017_original.jpg" target="_blank" target="_blank"><img alt="20140713_124132" src="https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/huntleywood/29711828/32017/32017_600.jpg" title="20140713_124132" loading="lazy" /></a><br /><i>Then gradually adds more detail.</i><br /><br /><a href="http://ic.pics.livejournal.com/huntleywood/29711828/31942/31942_original.jpg" target="_blank" target="_blank"><img alt="20140713_132230" src="https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/huntleywood/29711828/31942/31942_600.jpg" title="20140713_132230" loading="lazy" /></a><br /><i>The finished article is smoothed off with a sander.</i><br /><br /><a href="http://ic.pics.livejournal.com/huntleywood/29711828/32391/32391_original.jpg" target="_blank" target="_blank"><img alt="20140713_134319" src="https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/huntleywood/29711828/32391/32391_600.jpg" title="20140713_134319" loading="lazy" /></a><br /><i>And the wood is transformed into this handsome fellow!</i><br /><br />Tickets were sold for &pound;1 each to all those interested in a chance of winning this beautiful owl, with proceeds going to the fund for the church.<br /><br />We also donated a raffle prize, joint with local company OWL Craft, of a bushcraft day at Huntley Wood, which was first prize in the fayre&#39;s main raffle.&nbsp; That was won by a local lady who runs a youth group, who will be visiting Huntley Wood soon!</description> <comments>https://huntleywood.livejournal.com/18723.html?view=comments#comments</comments> <category>prize</category> <category>fayre</category> <category>raffle</category> <lj:security>public</lj:security> <lj:reply-count>0</lj:reply-count> </item> <item> <guid isPermaLink='true'>https://huntleywood.livejournal.com/18621.html</guid> <pubDate>Sat, 12 Jul 2014 22:25:45 GMT</pubDate> <title>2015-16 Prices Published</title> <author>huntleywood</author> <link>https://huntleywood.livejournal.com/18621.html</link> <description>Just a quick post this evening to let you all know that we have finally managed to get our 2015/16 price lists published.&nbsp; You can find them on our <a href="http://huntleywood.co.uk/booking/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Prices &amp; Booking</a> page.<br /><br />These prices apply from Spring 2015 through to Winter 2015/16.&nbsp; They are slightly higher than our 2014-15 prices, which reflects rising costs for, well, pretty much everything really! <br /><br />Everyone who has already made a provisional booking for 2015/16 will receive an email from me in the next few days detailing the cost of their event and requesting deposits to secure those dates.&nbsp; If you believe you have made a provisional booking for next year and don&#39;t receive an email from me regarding this by the end of the week please drop me an email at <a href="mailto:info@huntleywood.co.uk" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">info@huntleywood.co.uk</a>.</description> <comments>https://huntleywood.livejournal.com/18621.html?view=comments#comments</comments> <lj:security>public</lj:security> <lj:reply-count>0</lj:reply-count> </item> <item> <guid isPermaLink='true'>https://huntleywood.livejournal.com/18204.html</guid> <pubDate>Mon, 07 Jul 2014 17:11:45 GMT</pubDate> <title>Draycott Summer Fayre</title> <author>huntleywood</author> <link>https://huntleywood.livejournal.com/18204.html</link> <description>This coming Sunday, July 13th, is the local Summer Fayre in Draycott, which is held to raise funds for St Margaret&#39;s Church.&nbsp; I&#39;m really pleased and excited to say that Huntley Wood will be along, advertising our site to local groups, so we hope to see some of you there!<br /><br />We are also sponsoring two things at the fayre.&nbsp; First, local greenwood artist <a href="http://www.anthonyhammond.co.uk/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Anthony Hammond</a> will be doing a chainsaw carving on the day, made out of a piece of oak which we have donated from a tree which came down last winter.&nbsp; I watched Anthony create a sculpture at last year&#39;s fayre and it was quite impressive!<br /><br /><img alt="anthony hammond at work" height="334.1666666666667" src="https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/huntleywood/29711828/29855/29855_600.jpg" title="anthony hammond at work" width="500" fetchpriority="high" /><br /><i>Anthony Hammond at work on a chainsaw sculpture.</i><br /><br />At the end of the fayre the sculpture will be raffled off, so roll up and buy a ticket to have a chance of winning!&nbsp; No-one knows in advance what it will be, though - Anthony says <i>&quot;The wood is what dictates the final shape.&nbsp; I have made owls and bears in the past, and totems sometimes; and I like the natural world, so it won&#39;t be s surprise if an animal comes out this time again.&nbsp; But ... what happens, happens!&quot;</i><br /><br />Second, along with local company <a href="http://owlcraft.co.uk/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">OWL Craft</a> we have donated a bushcraft experience day to the main raffle for the weekend.&nbsp; The lucky winner will, along with a group of up to 10 people, be able to spend a day at Huntley Wood, with expert bushcraft tuition from Christian Fox of OWL Craft.&nbsp; The day can cover a variety of topics, from edible plants to fire lighting and making shelters and other wilderness living skills, depending on what the lucky winner is interested in, and could be suitable for adults or children.<br /><br /><img alt="Capture" height="382.5" src="https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/huntleywood/29711828/30065/30065_600.jpg" title="Capture" width="500" loading="lazy" /><br /><i>Outdoor cooking with OWL Craft.</i><br /><br />Further information about the Fayre and what is on over the weekend can be found on the <a href="http://draycottinmoors.wordpress.com/2014/06/06/draycott-summer-fayre-2014/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Draycott in the Moors website</a> - it&#39;s a great day out for all the family, with lots of fun displays and activities, so why not come along.&nbsp; Just need to keep our fingers crossed for good weather!</description> <comments>https://huntleywood.livejournal.com/18204.html?view=comments#comments</comments> <category>local</category> <category>prize</category> <category>winners</category> <category>fayre</category> <category>raffle</category> <lj:security>public</lj:security> <lj:reply-count>0</lj:reply-count> </item> <item> <guid isPermaLink='true'>https://huntleywood.livejournal.com/18068.html</guid> <pubDate>Mon, 07 Jul 2014 15:51:53 GMT</pubDate> <title>Photo Competition Winner: June 2014</title> <author>huntleywood</author> <link>https://huntleywood.livejournal.com/18068.html</link> <description><i>Each month throughout 2014 we are asking those who have attended events at Huntley Wood to send us their photos as part of a competition to find photographs to use in our 2015 calendar. The calendar will be available for sale at the end of the year, with all profits going to <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/LARP-Aid/117780841660053" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">LARP Aid</a>.&nbsp; For more information about the competition and how to enter, see <a href="http://huntleywood.livejournal.com/16102.html" target="_blank">this blog post</a>.</i><br /><br />The last month seems to have gone by inordinately fast, I really don&#39;t know where the time has gone!&nbsp; But it&#39;s already time for this month&#39;s photo competition winner, so here it is:<br /><br /><img alt="P1010029" height="375" src="https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/huntleywood/29711828/29555/29555_600.jpg" title="P1010029" width="500" fetchpriority="high" /><br /><br /><br /><b>Credit:</b> James Bloodworth<div><b>Event:</b> <a href="http://www.firefight.org.uk/goldrush/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Goldrush</a> #4, &quot;And Generous Death Will Show Me All&quot;<br /><b>Date:</b> 20-22 June 2014 <b>Site:</b> Wyldwood</div><br />James says:<br /><i>&quot;In &quot;Goldrush&quot;, the players are in the universe as depicted in the TV series &quot;Firefly&quot; and movie &quot;Serenity&quot;. &nbsp;In this part of the campaign, the players space craft has been shot down and they find themselves in the middle of a clan war as they attempt a hasty repair. &nbsp;All combat is handled by Laser-Tag.</i><i> In this picture, Berger Corday and Jefferson Pickett are looking to see if there any more attackers after an assault.&quot;</i><br /><br />It&#39;s nice to see photos from a modern game, with technology and guns, as well as the pseudo-medieval or dark ages games we often have here - some sci fi, as well as sword and sorcery.....&nbsp; We have aimed to keep our woodland and buildings as neutral as possible, so that they can slot into any setting from any era, and it&#39;s nice to see the buildings in the background of this picture.&nbsp; I like the sense of something happening just out of shot in this photo, with both the subjects looking intently into the near distance, as if they are likely to be attacked at any moment.&nbsp; Which, by the sounds of it, they were!</description> <comments>https://huntleywood.livejournal.com/18068.html?view=comments#comments</comments> <category>photo</category> <category>calendar</category> <category>lrp</category> <category>2015 calendar</category> <category>sci fi</category> <category>competition</category> <category>photos</category> <category>wyldwood</category> <lj:security>public</lj:security> <lj:reply-count>0</lj:reply-count> </item> <item> <guid isPermaLink='true'>https://huntleywood.livejournal.com/17887.html</guid> <pubDate>Tue, 17 Jun 2014 08:37:15 GMT</pubDate> <title>Photo Competition Winner: May 2014</title> <author>huntleywood</author> <link>https://huntleywood.livejournal.com/17887.html</link> <description><i>Each month throughout 2014 we are asking those who have attended events at Huntley Wood to send us their photos as part of a competition to find photographs to use in our 2015 calendar. The calendar will be available for sale at the end of the year, with all profits going to <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/LARP-Aid/117780841660053" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">LARP Aid</a>.&nbsp; For more information about the competition and how to enter, see <a href="http://huntleywood.livejournal.com/16102.html" target="_blank">this blog post</a>.</i><br /><br />It&#39;s that time of the month again, when we announce the winner of the most recent instalment of our photo competition.&nbsp; May&#39;s winner is:<br /><br /><img alt="AscendancyLRPLCowie2_small" height="600" src="https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/huntleywood/29711828/29193/29193_600.jpg" title="AscendancyLRPLCowie2_small" width="413" fetchpriority="high" /><br /><br /><b>Credit:</b> Lorna Cowie<div><b>Event:</b> <a href="http://www.ascendancylrp.co.uk/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Ascendency LRP</a> , &quot;Sins of the Father&quot;<br /><b>Date:</b> 30 May - 1 June 2014 <b>Site:</b> Wyldwood</div><br />Lorna says:<br /><i>&quot;The Tribes of Frontier have organised a grand tournament which the Settlers have invited themselves to, this is bound to be trouble.&nbsp; The tournament is to take place at a tribal clearing near the Japura River portal in the centre of Frontier lands, a portal run by Settlers.<br /><br />In this picture, the event was a marksmanship, where the lead Shaman was the target.&nbsp; The distance from the archers to the target became progressively longer as the event continued.&nbsp; He started without a shield, but due to some very... narrow aiming, the great Shaman decided it would be wiser to protect himself a little better.&quot;</i><br /><br />There were a number of great portrait shots submitted this month, and I had a hard time choosing between them, but the truth of the matter is that I just couldn&#39;t resist this guy&#39;s head dress!&nbsp; It&#39;s also a nice shot of the fire pit in the Wyldwood, surrounded by our own home-made log benches, though the fire wood store in the background looks weirdly large due to the perspective....&nbsp; It&#39;s always nice for me to see various different parts of the site looking great in use in these photos, and I also love the vivid green in the background, where the light is coming through the new spring leaves in the ghostwood.&nbsp;</description> <comments>https://huntleywood.livejournal.com/17887.html?view=comments#comments</comments> <category>photo</category> <category>competition</category> <category>calendar</category> <category>charity</category> <category>photos</category> <category>2015 calendar</category> <lj:security>public</lj:security> <lj:reply-count>0</lj:reply-count> </item> <item> <guid isPermaLink='true'>https://huntleywood.livejournal.com/17604.html</guid> <pubDate>Fri, 06 Jun 2014 12:10:35 GMT</pubDate> <title>On-site Trader</title> <author>huntleywood</author> <link>https://huntleywood.livejournal.com/17604.html</link> <description>We&#39;re really pleased to announce that we now have an independent trader permanently based at Huntley Wood.<br /><br />&#39;Onist Oli, as he is known, will be available to trade at all future events at Huntley Wood, and sells a variety of useful items including toiletries, catering and camping supplies, and various snacks and drinks.<br /><br />More information can be found on the <a href="http://huntleywood.co.uk/services/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Local Services page</a> of our website, or you can download <a href="http://huntleywood.co.uk/services/menus/OnistOlisPriceList.pdf" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">&#39;Onist Oli&#39;s price list</a>.</description> <comments>https://huntleywood.livejournal.com/17604.html?view=comments#comments</comments> <category>website</category> <category>services</category> <lj:security>public</lj:security> <lj:reply-count>0</lj:reply-count> </item> <item> <guid isPermaLink='true'>https://huntleywood.livejournal.com/17174.html</guid> <pubDate>Wed, 14 May 2014 20:24:24 GMT</pubDate> <title>Photo Competition Winner: April 2014</title> <author>huntleywood</author> <link>https://huntleywood.livejournal.com/17174.html</link> <description><i>Each month throughout 2014 we are asking those who have attended events at Huntley Wood to send us their photos as part of a competition to find photographs to use in our 2015 calendar. The calendar will be available for sale at the end of the year, with all profits going to <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/LARP-Aid/117780841660053" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">LARP Aid</a>.&nbsp; For more information about the competition and how to enter, see <a href="http://huntleywood.livejournal.com/16102.html" target="_blank">this blog post</a>.</i><br /><br />After a rather hectic start to May, here is a slightly belated winner for our April Photo Competition:<br /><br /><br /><img alt="StephMorris" height="384.1666666666667" src="https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/huntleywood/29711828/28758/28758_600.jpg" title="StephMorris" width="500" fetchpriority="high" /><br /><b>Credit:</b> Steph Morris, <b>Submitted by:</b> Mark Corley<div><b>Event:</b> <a href="http://majesticoaklrp.co.uk/vale" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">The Vale</a> Cast &amp; Crew Meeting<br /><b>Date:</b> 4 - 6 April 2014 <b>Site:</b> Wyldwood</div><br />This photo was taken by Steph Morris, a runner up in our <a href="http://huntleywood.livejournal.com/16501.html" target="_blank">January competition</a>, at a pre-game meeting for the cast and crew of the Vale, a new LRP game which ran for the first time last weekend at Huntley Wood.&nbsp; This is an image in which I love both the foreground and the background, and particularly the contrast between the two which I think really makes the picture.&nbsp; The background is mysterious, the lush green of lichen and moss-covered twisted branches evoking a dark enchanted forest.&nbsp; The lady in the foreground, the Duchess in the new game, dressed in stark reds and blacks almost seems to jump out of the page, looking larger than life and thoroughly regal.&nbsp; She looks very much like a lady who could command armies, and in my imagination that&#39;s what she is surveying as she looks into the distance.<br /><br />Congratulations for to Steph for taking the winning photo, and also to the team who ran the Vale, which by all accounts was very successful.<br /><br />The astute amongst you will have noticed that there was no post about a March photo competition.&nbsp; That&#39;s because, despite having two quite large events at Huntley Wood in March, we sadly didn&#39;t get any submissions for the competition.&nbsp; As a result we will be using a photo of Huntley Wood for the March page in our 2015 calendar, but I haven&#39;t had time to sort one out yet, so it will remain as a surprise for those who buy the calendar....</description> <comments>https://huntleywood.livejournal.com/17174.html?view=comments#comments</comments> <category>photo</category> <category>calendar</category> <category>charity</category> <category>lrp</category> <category>2015 calendar</category> <category>live role playing</category> <category>competition</category> <category>photos</category> <category>larp</category> <lj:security>public</lj:security> <lj:reply-count>0</lj:reply-count> </item> <item> <guid isPermaLink='true'>https://huntleywood.livejournal.com/16902.html</guid> <pubDate>Thu, 08 May 2014 06:43:18 GMT</pubDate> <title>Spring Update</title> <author>huntleywood</author> <link>https://huntleywood.livejournal.com/16902.html</link> <description>If I&#39;ve been a little quieter than usual online, it&#39;s because we&#39;ve been a little busier than usual on site in the last few weeks.&nbsp; Spring has well and truly sprung and the leaves are finally all back out on the trees, which makes the whole of Huntley Wood look much brighter and happier than it has done during the very long, wet winter we&#39;ve just had, and the sun has started to put in semi-regular appearances, which makes working outdoors a much more pleasurable experience!&nbsp; We&#39;ve been taking full advantage of the better weather and getting lots of things sorted out on site in preparation for our busy season, which kicks off this weekend with the brand new Vale event.&nbsp; This is a Live Roleplaying (LRP or LARP to some) game which has been specifically designed around Huntley Wood, which is quite exciting.&nbsp; The first event is this weekend, so it has been all-systems-go to ensure that we&#39;re as ready as we can be for one of the largest events we have had here so far.&nbsp; If you&#39;re interested in coming along they still have a few tickets available, details and booking at <a href="http://majesticoaklrp.co.uk/vale" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">majesticoaklrp.co.uk/vale</a>.&nbsp; Don&#39;t forget to take a look at our <a href="http://huntleywood.co.uk/calendar" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">calendar</a> for other upcoming events at Huntley Wood - we have quite a busy summer ahead!<br /><br />Other signs of spring are in abundance out here, too - we always try to keep a look out for our furred, feathered and slimy friends whenever we are doing any work around the site, as although it&#39;s impossible for our presence not to impact on the wildlife here at all, we like to keep that disturbance to a minimum.&nbsp; This is particularly important in spring, when animals are breeding.&nbsp; One of our current big jobs is clearing away all the unavoidable mess which is generated by building work, and we were hoping to remove a large, somewhat unsightly box trailer which we have been using as storage space during the works, but as we were clearing out the last few items to allow it to be removed, we found this little lady sitting on her nest in one corner:<br /><br /><a href="http://ic.pics.livejournal.com/huntleywood/29711828/27505/27505_original.jpg" target="_blank" target="_blank"><img alt="bird" height="280" src="https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/huntleywood/29711828/27505/27505_300.jpg" title="bird" width="500" fetchpriority="high" /></a><br /><br />She appears to be a bluetit, from what I could see, and is no doubt incubating some eggs.&nbsp; Upon noticing her, we snapped this quick pic then closed up the trailer and abandoned our plans to move it, leaving the rest of the items inside in situ - we don&#39;t need them right now, and I&#39;m sure us climbing in and out and dragging them around would cause her no end of disturbance.&nbsp; As charming as it would be to update this blog with regular pics of her progress, and the baby birds when they emerge, that would also be very disruptive to her and her offspring, so we don&#39;t intend to take another look until much later in the year, when hopefully they will all have flown the nest.&nbsp; In the interim, the trailer will just have to stay where it is.&nbsp; This is a shame, as it&#39;s a bit of an eyesore, and now the last remaining obvious sign of industrial works in this part of the Greenvale, which is in all other ways turning into a very lush environment, but we&#39;ve put a sign explaining the situation on the trailer and hope that our customers won&#39;t mind!<br /><br /><a href="http://ic.pics.livejournal.com/huntleywood/29711828/27760/27760_original.jpg" target="_blank" target="_blank"><img alt="Trailer" height="280" src="https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/huntleywood/29711828/27760/27760_300.jpg" title="Trailer" width="500" loading="lazy" /></a><br /><br />We also have an awful lot of frogs and toads around the site, and I spend a lot of time jumping in and out of ditches and puddles to shoo them out of the way if we are doing some work.&nbsp; I don&#39;t have many photos of the adults, as I&#39;m usually too busy herding them in the right direction to photograph them, and frogs, in particular, are rather quick and do like to jump in entirely random directions, as likely to be towards danger as away!&nbsp; But we recently discovered a huge number of tadpoles in the bottom of an access chamber.<br /><br /><a href="http://ic.pics.livejournal.com/huntleywood/29711828/28067/28067_original.jpg" target="_blank" target="_blank"><img alt="tadpoles" height="280" src="https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/huntleywood/29711828/28067/28067_300.jpg" title="tadpoles" width="500" loading="lazy" /></a><br /><br />This isn&#39;t a terribly sensible place for baby frogs to be, so after a short journey by jug:<br /><br /><img alt="jug" height="500" src="https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/huntleywood/29711828/28188/28188_300.jpg" title="jug" width="280" loading="lazy" /><br /><br />we released them into an adjacent small pond, which is a very undisturbed part of site:<br /><br /><img alt="pond" height="500" src="https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/huntleywood/29711828/28500/28500_300.jpg" title="pond" width="280" loading="lazy" /><br />I&#39;m sure they&#39;ll be much happier here!&nbsp; The nearby access chamber will shortly be closed up for good, which should prevent any more froggies jumping in when no-one is looking.....<br /><br />Although we still have a little more building work to do - namely the toilet blocks in the Greenvale, which will be going up over the course of the rest of this year - much of the site is now complete in terms of large scale works (though of course we&#39;re always doing forestry, maintenance and general improvement of all three of our sites), and the process of clearing up is very nearly complete around most of Huntley Wood.&nbsp; Which is nice, as one of our main aims here has always been to create a world away from the hustle and bustle of modern life, where one can really enjoy the peace and quiet of the countryside.&nbsp; Though we&#39;re not done yet, and some of the process involves things like waiting for the trees and hedgrows we have planted around our car parks to grow which is something that no amount of work on our part will speed up, that end is definitely in sight.....</description> <comments>https://huntleywood.livejournal.com/16902.html?view=comments#comments</comments> <category>improvements</category> <category>customers</category> <category>construction</category> <category>ecology</category> <category>wildlife</category> <category>live role playing</category> <category>forestry</category> <category>buildings</category> <lj:security>public</lj:security> <lj:reply-count>0</lj:reply-count> </item></channel></rss> 
