The Wakerly Woods Walk Part 3: the final leg

Pictures and commentary by our man on (or in) the spot.

There is a strangeness about Wakerley Woods, or indeed to give it its full name Wakerley Great Woods.

For there are several websites that proclaim they are “all about” Wakerley Woods, but most contain little information.  It is as if one might walk down the long trail pictured here, and then vanish forever, never to return,

or to offer forth information as to what it was that could be found at the end of the trail. Would one find other lost souls walking the track, looking for the way back to the cars, perchance?

Well certainly for our jolly jaunt no, for onwards we marched and thereupon found exactly where we were – which turned out to be where we were supposed to be.

But the website listings are  indeed a trifle strange in that they tell no more of the history of the woods.

What we do know is that this is one of the oldest forests in England – although just how old I am finding it hard to establish.  Certainly it is more than four years old, since it was there when I first ventured forth from the car park.

But to be fractionally more serious for once, these woods are part of the Rockingham Forest, which used to spread from Stamford to Northampton, in (as they say) “days of yore” – a phrase which you can look up (if you must) but which is also the origin of “horoscope” which thus proves you can know where you have been and where you are going all at the same time.

The Forest is now overseen by Forestry England (which is logical) and much of their work involves leaving the

whole forest pretty much as it is, which is what makes it (for me at least) such a superb walk.

In 2001, archaeologists made the somewhat unexpected discovery of the  remains of a stone two-storey building in the part of the forest where we walked.

The building is a Tudor hunting lodge which replaced a wooden forester’s home.   Apparently from this stone building, ladies would watch their menfolk out hunting deer, ensuring that they were not getting up to any hanky panky on the side (as it were).

From this discovery, we can ascertain more about the habits of local residents in days long gone and confirm that the suspicion of one partner by another partner goes back a very long way.

This is part of The Jurassic Way which as you perhaps know, was a neolithic motorway footpath.

Why such an A grade footpath was needed at this point is unclear.  Neolithic records note a Late Stone Age rivalry between football teams based in the two villages, but the provenance of such a tale is not established, so I feel perhaps we should set it aside.

Instead. we should perhaps be happy that we are indeed still able to walk the trail without let or hindrance, although here again I find myself puzzled

which is to say I find myself once more bemused by both our language and our history and I must refer you to our leader for the day who I am sure will answer all your questions on etymology and other local flowers.

What I can most certainly say for sure is that a thoroughly splendid time was had by all, the forest bathing was as refreshing as it has been each year we have done it.

And to be serious for one moment, it is the combination of the sense of space, or timelessness, and then the contrast when one walks through the trees, complete with the knowledge that this is not that much different from how things must have been in Neolithic times.

OK the cars in the car park might have looked a little different but otherwise not that much has changed, I suspect.

A great afternoon out, and a rather pleasant half hour in the local public house followed, for those who so wished.   Thank you everyone.  I really enjoyed it.  In case you missed them you might also enjoy…

• • The Wakerley Woods walk with Forest Bathing. 1 August 2024
  • The Wakerly Woods Walk with Forest Bathing 2024. Part two.