The Wagon in the Woods

Join James Aldred on a captivating journey, encountering master craftsmen, British wildlife, and a deep passion for a remarkable landscape.

There are some moments in childhood that are frozen in time, vivid and vital, an anchor. When James Aldred tracked down an old Gypsy vardo, a traveler's wagon he once played in, he found himself inside one such moment again. Though brambles had overtaken its rotted boards and its wheels were barely there, it transported him to a magical summer in the New Forest forty years ago and awakened in him the possibility of reliving it with his young family. Pairing an ambition to restore the wagon to its former glory with a determination to share the Forest with his children, he embarked on a remarkable journey.

In his evocative memoir, Aldred chronicles his return to a cherished childhood landscape, rich with the history of the Romany Gypsies who once roamed freely there. As he painstakingly restores the wagon, Aldred delves into both the New Forest's natural history and storied past, tracing its roots back to the 16th century and even further to the time of William the Conqueror. Camera traps reveal otters hunting in the brook, while the nearby goshawk nest and fox earth speak to the area's thriving wildlife.
Masterfully observed, The Waggon in the Woods is a celebration of both people and place, and the timeless bond between land, history and the enduring spirit of adventure.