Cumbria festival of forestry

Just thought I would post a few pictures of the forestry festival, which is the first of its kind in Cumbria. The event was organised by Cumbria Woodlands and Woodland Inspirations. Cumbria is very rich in its woodland and the main idea of the festival was to promote forestry as a main sector of the regions economy. The range of displays was diverse – it was great to see all aspects of the industry, from heavy timber extraction and processing machinery, to beautifully made willow sculptures and greenwood crafts.

What a perfect day out! Blue skies, plenty of sun and loads to do – this really is what Sundays are for. I arrived just in time for an early lunch and then set about exploring. I seemed to be drawn towards the big machines, but I guess that is to be expected! There was a lot to see and some very impressive demonstrations.

Forestry seems to have moved on these days, certainly with respect to technology. There seemed to be a lot of smaller scale machinery available and attachments for the farm sized tractor – I guess land owners are now more able to develop an income from their woodlands, without involving the larger contractors.

This mini digger has a conical screw, which can dig in, lift and then split a piece of timber…

Chipping on an industrial scale. This machine made short work of some pretty big trees…

Huw from DF Timber on a well deserved tea break…

A beautiful selection of willow baskets and sculptures – made by the very courteous Phil Bradley! The large sheep will be part of a selection of sculptures lining first stage of the 2014 Tour De France, as it passes through Yorkshire…

Some more of Phil’s beautiful work…

I didn’t have a go at this, but wish I did – the axe throwing looked like good fun. Just had to make sure I took the photo from the right vantage point!...

The hand carvings by this chap were quite amazing. No surprise  I was only able to get this one photo – there were so many customers in the way!...