My Journey to Finding a Decent Local Woodland

After an enjoyable spell of woodland photography in Germany, I spent the week searching for accessible, local forests that would allow me to continue exploring my new found passion…

Munich

If you have been following my YouTube adventures over the past few weeks, you’ll be aware that I’ve enjoyed a good stint of woodland photography whilst living in Munich. I’d dabbled with some woodland adventures before this, but I’d never quite had that passion or burning desire to consistently return. I’m incredibly grateful for my time in Munich, as it’s inspired me to explore this area of photography a little more in-depth. As a landscape photographer who’d be happy to travel a 5+ hour round-trip, just to enjoy an outing in the mountains and lakes, the accessibility of a local woodland and short travel time has become something that really appeals.

Local Exploration

*A decent composition I discovered in ‘The Folly’*

Although I’ll be re-locating to the North-West of England in a couple of weeks’ time, I’ve spent my first week as a full-time landscape photographer eagerly attempting to discover some local woodlands in and around the Shropshire area (where I currently reside). The first woodland, named ‘The Folly’, was actually a woodland I’d visited once before (prior to my German adventure). It’s an incredibly diverse woodland, with deciduous and coniferous trees alike.

Although a woodland with massive photographic potential, it turns out that the vast majority of ‘The Folly’ is actually privately owned. The pictured Ordnance Survey map shows the 2 green public footpaths. Step off these and you’re trespassing. I reluctantly decided to forget about this forest and look elsewhere.

What Next?

After moving on, I went out to visit another local woodland (one I don’t even want to talk about because it was such a non-event!). This then got me thinking - what actually defines local? What qualifies as your ‘local area’? Please comment below your opinion on this, I’m still undecided and very interested in what you think! I Didn't really come to a conclusion on this one, but either way I decided to start exploring a little further afield for my woodland…

Planning Process - How I Found my Woodland

My two favourite photography guide books

For my previous woodlands, I’d essentially scour the OS maps on my phone (ViewRanger App), decide if they’d be worth visiting by exploring some images on Google, and then head out - camera in hand. Due to my relative lack of success with the previous two woodlands, I decided to seek inspiration from a couple of my trusty location guide books. I have two books which cover areas that, I believe, are close enough to call local. Firstly, the Wales and Shropshire Hills area Wild Guide - not a photography book, but wonderful for inspiration to help find more ‘off the beaten track’ locations (particularly good for woodland). Secondly, the Photographing: North Wales guidebook - a fantastic book, specifically published to showcase potential photography locations. It was the latter that helped me find my woodland for this week’s YouTube adventure, Nant Mill Wood. The book includes a couple of images from the location, and a short evaluation of what to expect there. I then used my OS maps and Google satellite to figure out the best place to park. Voila!

Conclusion

Although I enjoy it, I don’t always think it’s necessarily beneficial to aimlessly search through Ordnance Survey/topography maps in order to find a location. Sometimes it works, but sometimes it just serves as a good back up upon discovering a location through alternative means.