The Tree Huts Of Epping Forest
Who can resist the lure of the forest in summer? Since Epping Forest is a mere cycle ride from Spitalfields, each year I visit to seek refuge among the leafy shades. And, in the depths of the forest, I come upon these makeshift tree huts which fascinate me with the variety and ingenuity of their design.
Who can be responsible? Is it children making dens or land artists exploring sculptural notions? Clearly never weatherproof, they are not human habitations. I wondered if the sprites and hobgoblins had been at work constructing arbors for the spirits of the forest. But then I remembered I had seen something similar once before, Eeyore’s hut at the edge of the Hundred Acre Wood.
Some are elaborate constructions that are worthy of architecture and others merely collections of twigs which tease the eye, questioning whether they are random or deliberate. They conjure an air of ritualistic mystery and, the more I encountered, the more intrigued I became. So much effort and skill expended suggest deliberate purpose or intent, yet they remain an enigma.
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It never fails to surprise me just how many parallels there are in cultural perception between the Gentle Author and myself. In the forest of Sensenstein Youth Castle near Kassel, you’ll not only find my tree — the 600-year-old oak — but on 1st May five years ago, I even discovered a similar treehouse in the nearby area. Naturally, it immediately reminded me of Eeyore’s treehouse on the edge of the Hundred Acre Wood… — Here are the original photos:
https://achimthepooh.de/gifs_peace/sensenstein_tree_hut_P1040097
https://achimthepooh.de/gifs_peace/sensenstein_tree_hut_P1040098
https://achimthepooh.de/gifs_peace/sensenstein_tree_hut_P1040099
https://achimthepooh.de/gifs_peace/sensenstei_my_tree_P1040331
Love & Peace
ACHIM
I think this instinct is hard-wired into us. Children need no encouragement – there is an innate urge to build secret shelters. And yes, I did too, way back. How lovely they have the chance to do so in Epping Forest.
There are cryptozoologists—self-styled hunters of mythical creatures—in the U.S. who attribute such tree structures to the ever-elusive “Bigfoot”. One wonders what they would make of these…
In Australia most children at 4yo are in kindergarten . Certain days if they have nearby local bushland they participate in a course called Bush Kindie . My grandson made structures like this . He’s 12 now and he and his friends are still making them . Last week they actually spent a night huddled in one, rugged up in sleeping bags ……great excitement
This is a really interesting idea.
Is it possible that they are ‘frames’ over which a ‘wild camper’ would temporarily stretch a tarpaulin or groundsheet or whatever? I have seen videos of outdoors people making this kind of structure and then covering the exterior with foliage, moss, branches and so on but few of those pictured show any sign of once being covered…
It’s probably nicer to think they are the shelters of woodland creatures…