Introduction

Woodhouse Wood is 80 acres of ancient native woodland. It is predominantly oak but alder, ash, birch and willow are also found. The understory is hazel, holly and rowan and the ground cover a mix of bramble, bracken, bilberry, ferns and moss. In May many acres are a carpet of bluebells. Clear felled for its timber some 100 years ago, it was abandoned to regrow and has been neglected ever since. It is now a thick entanglement of thin trees, it is a haven for woodland wildlife but alas is largely unproductive in quality timber.

We have begun to manage the woodland in a way that will enable future generations to sustainably harvest quality wood. At the moment we are slowly thinning the woods, cutting as the need arises. Our buildings use wiggly green oak poles but we also have a small saw mill, a kiln for drying the sawn boards and workshop machinery for sawing, planing and finishing these planks. Sometimes we make charcoal and we have lots of firewood.

Woodhouse Wood is also home to three pigs and two ponies and is open to the public for walks all year round. The map in our Welcome Hut can help you plan your route, it is painted on a deer skin, a sad casualty of the A477. There are good tracks throughout the woods but they are steep in places. There are parking areas at the entrance to the wood, outside the reception/workshop and by the clearing at the top of the woods. Unless otherwise invited please park at the entrance carpark, by the Welcome Hut, and walk.

At the top of the wood is a witches clearing ringed by strange twisted trees, which add a little magic to the space. Here we have built two beautiful roundhouses that almost seem to have grown there. They are made from bent oak poles, wooden pegs, nails and clever carpentry. The roofs are turf and fern and, with a concealed plastic membrane keeping out the rain, they provide considerable shelter for the various events held at Woodhouse Wood. These facilities are available for hire and are a unique and inspiring setting for many occasions.

We are Woodhouse Wood Community Co-op and have been since 2002. We are a voluntary, non-profit making group and a registered company. Some of us are a loose association of craftsmen and artists celebrating the beauty of wood and its myriad uses. Mostly we are just people who have known the woodland over the past few years and believe it to be a good place. There are about 40 of us and some of us have worked and played in the woods for over 10 years. You can contact us with any enquires or, or you can just come for a look around.

Getting here is simple. Take the A477 (Tenby road) for 3 miles west of St. Clears, turn left for New Mill opposite the Old Mill Transport Cafe. Go over the small stone bridge and turn immediately right into the woodland!