Way back at the end of July I helped the Liphook Scouts to cut some birch rods on Stanley Common, one of the commons I help to manage, from a patch of scrub I've been leaving intentionally to harvest at a useful size. The scouts were about to go on their annual camp, this year on the river Wye (just down from Symonds Yat) and their aim was to make coracles and race them on the river.
I know this part of the river Wye (just down from Symonds Yat) having been camping and canoeing there since I was young, so I was keen to help their plan. Very kindly the leaders sent me some pictures of the scouts making the coracles and the race on the river. The coracles only needed to work once so a light birch frame sufficed covered in plastic sheeting.
The coracles look quite ungainly out of the water but once in it they seem to do the job nicely.
Though I think I might need a slightly larger one these days. In these days of health and safety paranoia it's good to see that the scouts are still allowed to make and do things, so well done the Liphook Scouts - and I look forward to getting them to do some more scrub clearance on the commons as well.
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