There are many ‘Shaves’ in Kent where Stone Circle Livery is situated. A shave is a small parcel of woodland. Sometimes they are called a ‘Shaw’. ‘Shaw’ is the word you will find on many of the old maps. Shaves can often be found separating land boundaries between properties or situated around the field ditch network that runs across Kent. Often, where the ditch network finds lowland or inaccessible places a shave will be in evidence.
There is such a shave at Stone Circle Livery and within it there is a complicated ditch network. Over the many hundreds of years the ditches have formed their own path. In some areas the water has formed tunnels big enough to crawl through at 4ft high and in others there are channels 16ft deep. On a dry summers day it is hard to imagine the ditches almost overflowing but they do. After the heavy rains the sound of the water thundering through the ditches is deafening and you have to shout above it to be heard.
The trees in our shave are of the semi-ancient-natural-woodland variety and provide a stunning natural canopy that is deep in bird song. Originally the shave was impenetrable with overgrown brambles and fallen trees so we set about restoring it. There were two main objectives. The first was to create a new bridleway so it could be used by carriage drives as we have a carriage driving for the disabled group at Stone Circle Livery and riders on horse back. The second was to restore the habitat and to bring an old pond back to life.
Many years ago farmers would cut ditches in to ponds. This meant that during the summer months the pond would dry out as the water had run off in to the out flow ditch. We cleared the pond and reshaped the ditches so the water would hold and form a pond. At the same time we replaced the sleeper bridges on the public right of way that had become unsafe for walkers to use. We have been rewarded for all this effort by now seeing a pond that is healthy and vibrant with life and as the pond is adjacent to the path walkers get the benefit of our endeavours too.
The shave covers around 4.5 acres and is situated where a natural dip in the land occurs. This has given us the opportunity to create a new bridle way that follows the shape of the land flowing with the curves and the bends. It is amazing when you first set out to create a track how the natural lay-of-the-land and the position of the trees dictates a far more interesting route than you may have created left to your own devices. Again the opening of the track has rewarded us with superb displays of Foxglove and Bluebell.
Small parcels of woodland offer fantastic opportunities for riders. They also can bring a wood back to life through being used again and looked after. It is always good practice to seek initial advice from your local wildlife trust and forestry office as to best practice and no ditch should be cut in to or altered without expert opinion. The before and after pictures here show when we first created the tracks and restored the ponds and how they now look in spring. Stunning.
http://www.kentwildlifetrust.org.uk
http://www.forestry.gov.uk
