Follow him, in this beautifully written memoir, through the woods of West Dean Estate as he learns new skills, shares the good times and bad, danger, hard work and simple pleasures to become a qualified woodman and finally Assistant Forester. Learn through him the local language of a profession older than farming; smell the wood smoke; hear the hum of chainsaws; observe wildlife and gain an insight into working in the woods before the use of large, specialised machines became widespread. Working with nature brought rewards money couldn't buy until mechanisation took away more than hard labour.