Beginning advent with a little adventure.
ADVENTURES #8: WILDERNESS WOODS
Lottie and I wanted to start our advent this year with a little adventure. In past years, we’ve relied on the artificial tree we got when we first moved into the flat, but our yearning for a real one had our first tree semi-permanently retired to the attic. Last year we got our real tree from the local garden centre, but this year we went a little further afield, taking a drive to the outskirts of Uckfield in East Sussex. We were going to go to the same place last year - things got in the way, as they do, but we finally got there this time around, and early afternoon on the 30th of November we emptied the car, popped the back seats down, and headed off to Wilderness Woods for their Christmas Tree and Winter Fayre. The drive was pretty quick, and before long we were pulling in to the wilderness collective’s site. Pretty unassuming from the road, but the tell-tell sign of an event could be seen through the shrubbery - high-vis vests! The incredibly chirpy fellows there directed us to our parking space amongst the stacks of chopped firewood, and as we wandered towards the entrance, we were greeted with the wonderful heady scents of log fires, roasting chestnuts, woodfired pizza, mince pies, and, of course, pine trees.
The site itself (the bit used for the fayre) is quite small, but there was a lot packed in, with a bar, shops, drinks van, gift and food stalls, and, of course, the tree zone. The whole scene was very picturesque, and could easily be summed up with the words wholesome and cosy. People were chatting away around firepits munching on mince pies and grasping steaming cups of mulled wine, children played and laughed amongst the trees, artisans showed off their woodworking skills, musicians played their merry tunes, and would-be lumberjacks milled about in excitement for the season, enjoying everything the fayre had to offer. After grabbing a mince pie ourselves, we perused the shops and the many handmade gifts that were on offer before taking in the rest of the sights and sounds of the event.
After making a couple of circles, we decided to put our order in for some food at the Cook House, and to go for a little explore of the rest of the site while we waited. There was a wooden playground nearby, and along the winding footpaths there are lodges you can hire for says or treatments - we didn’t do that though, not this time anyway, but they do look very inviting. After a bit of larking about in the park and wandering the trails, we wound our way towards the Christmas tree field before heading back to pick our own (not before having some more treats to keep us going).
You can go ahead of time and pick your tree from the field, tagging it ready for pick up closer to the festive season, or you can pick from a selection of pre-cut - which is what we did. Sifting through piles of trees can be a taxing experience as you need to find one that is just right! Most of the trees that were short enough to fit in the flat were gone however, but we eventually managed to find one we liked amongst what was left, and after heaving it over to the packing area, we got the tree ready for transport and carried it to the car (picking up some mistletoe as well). Once the tree was safely tucked in, we wandered back to soak up more of the atmosphere - and to meander our way towards the pizza oven, as our food was due to be ready soon.
We found a seat near the big fire pit, and eagerly waited our dinner, having grown ever more hungry after seeing how good the pizza looked. Eventually the lovely woman who was taking the orders yelled TOM (she said she’d shout it loud - and she did), and after collecting our food - garlic mushroom and caramelised onion for me, and black olive and garlic mushroom for Lottie), we huddled up to enjoy our little feast - delicious. After eating, and enjoying a beer by the fire, we went for another little browse. The dark had fully set in by then, and the festoon lights added greatly to the magic of the place. It was starting to wind down a little by then though, but the place was still filled with merry making, and it almost felt like a shame to leave… but we had prior engagements - that being the putting up and decorating of the tree!
On our way home we had a quick pitstop in Lewes for a little wander and to acquire more mince pies. Once we got home, we dug out our collection of decorations from the loft, unwound the lights, set the tree in the stand, and got to work, all while listening to some classic Christmas music and watching the winter episodes of Moomin, as is tradition. Some people do get a bit sick of the season, and find a month of it too much, but we like revelling in the build-up, and revel we did. If you’re in the south of England and fancy making a day of your tree acquisition, I heartily recommend Wilderness Wood - a lovely experience- and if you have a busy month, you can get your trees right up until the 22nd of December, although that would be insanely late in my book.
To top off the Christmassy-ness of the weekend we decided to head out for a Sunday roast - a thing we do all to rarely. The local pub was decked out appropriately for the season and we indulged in a very hearty meal, followed by a huge block of sticky toffee pudding, driving home a few hours later to wind down for the weekend and to cosy up with a hot drink next to our lovely little tree.
There we go - Christmas starts now! If you celebrate, do you make the most of the season? Or are you a little more restrained? And do you have any traditions around the setting up of your tree? This year we kept things a little simpler, sticking mostly to our collection of little metal Father Christmas decorations, candy canes, the odd bauble, and the lights.
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