If you go down to the woods today, you’re sure of a big surprise!

In fact, we have to ask you to keep out of the woods for now, because the woodland is currently dangerously unsafe.

On November 26th/27th 2021 Storm Arwen slammed across the UK, with 100 mile an hour winds. One of the areas worst hit was Northumberland, including Rothbury and Coquetdale, where fallen trees across the valley left many without power and water for nearly a week. The Ramshaugh Woods - a diverse range of woodland including the Devil’s Elbow, the Fairy Wood, the Birch Wood and the Top End - was flattened, with almost 70% of mature trees torn down, broken or uprooted.

We are raising £50,000 to make this diverse stretch of woodland safe for community access again and to save as much of the viable timber as possible.

Follow our journey on @ramshaugh.woods

This woodland also happens to be the home of my parents, Ali and Judie Freeman. They’re both hatha yoga teachers, who’ve been running their Judali Yoga classes in Coquetdale for the last 20 years. They live in a tiny, low-impact, self-built home in the woods, from which they maintain and manage the woods - sustainably rather than commercially - to support the indigenous flora and fauna, and to provide a restorative place for mindful contemplation of the natural environment.

Following the storm it now looks like this;

Across 20 acres of woodland the devastation is the same. It’s hard to describe the fond place this woodland holds, in the hearts of locals and visitors.

Bought by my grandparents in the early 1980’s, my folks took over the management of the woods in 1986, and have managed it as a sustainable resource ever since.

When my brother and I were still young, my parents ran a really popular community summer school, called the Woodland Workshops, that provided environmental education activities for children. This involved local parents, local businesses, Northumberland National Park and the Ministry of Defence at Otterburn (to name but a few), as well as a wide range of schools and community groups.

From then until now they continue to develop the woodland in partnership with the local community. Barry’s path (now sadly buried under trees) used by many to wend their way through this beautiful, varied woodland and has been maintained voluntarily by brothers Barry and Neil Tomas, both local residents, to ensure a safe and interesting route through the woods. Successive generations of Harbottle First School pupils have been regular visitors, for their outdoor activities and Forest School sessions. Most recently, during the UK’s COVID restrictions - when access to other woodland and farmland was restricted, my parents continued to allow socially distanced access to their woodland, as well as providing outdoor yoga and meditation sessions to continue to support the local community’s physical and mental wellbeing.

So you can see how important this space is - £50,000 is an estimate, to get experienced local contractors to harvest and process the fallen timber (using specialised heavy machinery) - as this is the only safe way to clear up the mess and make the woods safe. My parents have avoided using heavy machinery in the woods because it scars the landscape for years to come, but the devastation in the Fairy Woods and Top End is such, that only heavy machinery will clear it. Other less dangerous areas will be cleared over time using manpower, quad bikes and/or heavy horses in order to avoid further damage. The plan is then to replant, reuse the timber to build eco-friendly structures to continue to support the community, our business and our family.

So here we are.. Currently the woodland is a broken mess, unsafe to access with a seemingly insurmountable amount of work to do, to restore this vital outdoor community resource. On top of the community impact this woodland is like a part of our family, where my brother and I have grown up over the last 30 years.

That’s why we need your help. Anything you can do will support us - if you can't donate in money you can donate your time, expertise or anything else that may help.

Because we aren't the only group effected by this extreme weather my mam and dad would also like to donate 5% of any money raised (10% of anything over our target) to local emergency services - shared equally between the Great North Air Ambulance Service, Northumberland National Park Mountain Rescue Team, and Northumberland Fire and Rescue Service – thankfully, none of which were needed on this occasion, but which provide a vital service to this remote rural area.

Follow our journey on instagram: @ramshaugh.woods