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woods. a celebration. robert penn. national trust hardback. 227pp illus. £20

woods - a celebration - robert penn

"...on an autumn mornings as the trees emerge from the mist, is to transcend centuries."

there is, but three miles distant from the croft, bridgend woods an agglomeration of leafy trees, once the 'playground' of the landed gentry and former owners of islay. those folks subsequently became the guardians of islay estates before selling the big house (now a hotel) to a former american airline pilot. islay house, added to by its several owners through the centuries, reputedly has 365 windows, but you will have to take that on trust as i confess, i've never had the effrontery to count them.

woods - a celebration - robert penn

the village of bridgend gained its name from the so-called dry-bridge that carried the track from islay house into the woods on the other side of the main road. this was reputedly to save the ladies of the manor having need of unwanted contact with the proletariat. subsequently, the latter were hived off to bowmore village in order not to sully the landscape as seen by those of title and social standing. an early example of ethnic cleansing by any other name.

some years ago, the bridge was unceremoniously demolished in an almost clandestine manner, presumably in order that no-one could object and bring proceedings to a halt. however, in mitigation, it had been the scene of one or two minor traffic accidents due to its narrowness and the ever increasing size of the articulated trucks servicing islay's distilleries. aside from that, the lords and ladies of the manor no longer had need of its services.

in a contemporary volte face, islay estates subsequently undertook some remedial work within the woods and opened it to the general public, its paths available not only to the many individuals who fancy a weekend perambulation, nor indeed, the myriad dogwalkers who enjoy its cloistered sanctity, but also the velocipedinally inclined. it is my favoured location to scrabble about on the specialized 'cross bike of a saturday forenoon; its many linked gravelly and muddy paths offering an enticing parcours for the intrepid incompetent such as myself.

at the appropriate times of the year, those paths are edged with an abundance of snowdrops and bluebells, while the winter storms inveitably fell one or two ageing trees. sods law being what it is, these invariably fall across the very path on which i'd prefer to cyclocross; sven nys would love it.

woods - a celebration - robert penn

though i have frequented its leafy green-ness on many a happy occasion, i'm afraid that the trees on each side of the pathways are simply that: trees. i have over the years of my retreat to hebridean parts, attempted unsuccessfully, to learn a smattering of gaelic, identify even a miniscule portion of the island's famed and copious birdlife and maybe, just maybe, figure out just what type of tree has fallen in my path. i should probably have simply taken a photograph and asked robert penn.

strictly speaking, woods - a celebration has nothing whatsoever to do with cycling other than a means of cataloguing the background to my/our offroad cycling activities. however, robert penn is the author of it's all bout the bike, the story of his journey across europe and north america in search of the ultimate componentry choices for his bike of a lifetime. prior to his visiting portland, oregon, robert and i corresponded in discussion over that section of the book and i have watched with interest and respect of his knowledge about matters arborial.

and working on the perennial tautology, that it's my blog and i'll write what i darned well like, i thought it a wizard wheeze to review this excellent a beautifully illustrated book produced in conjunction with the national trust.

woods - a celebration - robert penn

the problem with trees, if indeed it can be classed as a problem, is that they are endemic to our existence. we pretty much take them for granted until autumn arrives when we can oooh and aaah over the resultant fabulous colours. the latter occupies chapter three of this four chapter book, dealing as it does with how trees and the inhabitants of our woods behave across the four seasons. impressed as i am with penn's knowledge and easy-going narrative, i cannot deny that the big attraction of this book is the sumptuousness of its illustrations, presented all the better for having been printed on quality paper.

penn's chatty style succeeds in bringing to life what many may see as knowledge purely incidental to 'real' life. travel back a few centuries in time and these are the sort of observations that would have been very much a part of real life, paying attention as to how the seasons pass and the effect they have upon the nation's wildlife and plantlife.

"Something that resembled a blue arrow had disappeared round a bend in the River Teign before I realised it was a kingfisher. This was my reward for rising early."

woods - a celebration - robert penn

however, were this merely a book of tree-based observations, it could arguably be passed over as purely subjective, quite likely the sort of acuity available to many, though it's doubtful the many could have encapsulated those observations with such a fluid narrative style. but robert penn is also the author of the book the man who made things out of trees; it's doubtful that any artisan could create anything without an intrinsic knowledge of the material(s) involved.

"Sap is the blood of trees. The fluid, comrising mainly water plus a few dissolved minerals, is taken up by a tree's roots from the soil. [...] Between the xylem and the phloem is a thin layer that forms a sheath round the tree, called cambium - a stem cell tissue that generates more xylem vessels inside it..."

all of us will experience some downtime between lubing the chain and straining to nab just one more strava sector, moments when rest and recovery demands we shut off from the pelotonic milieu and consider matters altogether more philosophical. when those moments present themselves, it's worth reminding yourself that trees are the new black. 'woods - a celebration' is an impressive publication, one made all the more impressive by the existence of a comprehensive index at the back. if you struggle to make the connection between trees and bicycles, just think of robert penn pedalling through the woods on his ultimate bicycle.

in the autumn.

thursday 19 october 2017

twmp ..........................................................................................................................................................................................................