We first moved to Farley in 1987 with our two children, who then attended the local primary school. I was working in Whiteparish at the time, so it was an easy commute of just under 7 miles each way. It was at about this time that Alan Heeks purchased Hazel Hill Wood but no one was really sure who he was or what he was up to. I recall one foggy November day in the 90’s taking my dog for a walk and seeing the plastic water pipe (now buried) leading from the road
into Hazel Hill. Curious, I followed it into the wood and slowly out of the gloom the Round House appeared. Very strange!
At that time, it was the only building. The village imagined that ‘something’ was going on and the noises from things like
his Vision Quest created a fertile ground for all sorts of speculations.
It was not until 2004, however, on a public open day that I went back into the wood. I was shown round the facilities by one of the staff and met Alan. I was really impressed and by chance picked up a leaflet about Robert and Marta’s Beltane workshop that May. I decided to go and the rest, as they say, is history. I applied for the post of Warden when it became free in 2005 and got the job.
Apart from the buildings, I also managed the bookings. There was a small team at the wood then but the first big change came when the Forest Ark was built in 2008. This needed a great deal of resources to build and run and in the early days, this was the whole job of one person to look after it. It was a great project and I learnt a lot about off-grid technology with the introduction of that building. What works – and what does not.
In the earlier days, Family Conservation Weekends were free to attend in exchange for working at Hazel Hill and we attracted several low-income people and families who would not otherwise get any holiday. The formation of the Trust in 2015 built on that principle of helping others spend time in nature. It was a big change but necessary in the end to pave the way for the wood to be self-reliant. All too often it was a case of asking Alan to put his hand in his pocket when things needed fixing. He is still a generous benefactor of the wood though. In 2017, the extension of the Oak House and the renovation of its roof kept the building in good repair and with better facilities.
With the advent of a change in the client base (more vulnerable people, carers, front-line medical staff and younger people etc.), the facilities were not up to standard. We needed to reduce the level of occupancy in many rooms and provide more separated accommodation. Some clients were not happy with the basic facilities on offer. So the next big thing was the Hideaway with sleeping for up to 16 people in a comfortable building. The initial design was done by Alan and myself, only bringing in professional architects when detailed structural plans were needed by the builders. It was satisfying to apply my experience of off-grid technologies to the design. As a charitable trust, Hazel Hill has been able to attract grant funding from all sorts of places and this time we got Lottery and EU funding but it was still a huge expense, not helped by the advent of Covid during its construction. Eventually, it was completed and provides a popular addition to the wood’s facilities.
It has been a joy to have such a place on my doorstep. Hazel Hill has opened up many paths of self-discovery and enlivened my connection with nature and low-impact living. I have carried this on to other endeavours and it is always good to meet people elsewhere who have a good tale to tell of their time in Hazel Hill.
Simon Wyre, Buildings Maintenance, July 2025