If you go down to the woods today…

Of course it depends which woods you go down to. I would recommend the woods to the south of the A148 just after you have passed the public house Roman Camp.

There is an unobtrusive turning on the right towards what the locals call Lion’s Mouth (a pretty spot providing you can avoid the dog-walkers) but there at certain times of year you will find Arnie Barton, a wood carver.

Even as wood carvers go Arnie is a bit unusual. First, he creates his sculptured animals and birds on the spot, working by the road side. Second his main shaping tool is a chainsaw or a series of chainsaws and other mechanical instruments of a similar nature.

I watched in amazement as he (somewhat noisily) carved from part of a tree-trunk a wooden owl, etching out feathers, claws and even sockets for the eyes. It was quite a speedy affair as lumps of wood were hacked away with great skill. Sawdust flew everywhere – to the extent that he felt much happier if I was offered a pair of safety glasses to keep the sawdust out of my eyes.

CREATING AN OWL FROM BEGINNING TO END

Fantastic artistry and the finished products were oiled or coloured before being put up for sale there and then.

He is not at his roadside pitch all the time but a thoughtfully positioned sign, which I have used as the banner for this week’s blog shows how he can be contacted and I will include a link at the end of the pictures.

It was a very interesting visit to the Great Wood and the moral of the story is “don’t drive too quickly towards Cromer – you might miss him and all the goodies.”

Far better than any Teddy Bears Picnic!

Have a good weekend.

To see more of Arnie’s work click here