Whilst the work on Dell Pond was going on, one of our members, Ben Eking, who regularly walks Charles (his black labrador) in this area, had an idea. If the trees were cut, not to ground level but leaving 3 or 4 metres of trunk, these could be the base for sculpture. He got in touch with Will Lee and Dave Flemon, two local chainsaw artists, and very generously commissioned them to produce some appropriate carvings. Examples of Will’s work can be seen at www.chainsaw-carvings.co.uk.
Ben Eking with Charles
The carvings took two weeks to complete, and the results are absolutely beautiful. There are owls carved into the standing trunks, bears peeping out from trees, a magnificent dragon fly, a fairy castle, squirrels, the old man of the woods, butterflies and a wide seat watched over by a vixen and her cub. And the pond is sealed, fills up with water after rainfall, and the transplanted iris look healthy.
All these can be seen from the track which leads to Dell Cottage, or approached from Dell Mound or the Orchard field. More is planned – a large seat with grass around for story-telling, and steps from the track to make access easier. Currently the first approach from the track is steep and can be slippery, there are safer steps a little way further down the track.