Coffee In The Woods Video Series

I recently came up with the idea of filming myself drinking coffee in the woods for a whole year. Why?

Well. It’s not really about filming myself drinking coffee in the woods. It is, of course, but there’s a lot more to it than that. At least I think there is, maybe it’ll become a little more apparent as the year goes by.

There will be one video for each month, starting in April 2023. Yes, I should have started in January but ah well. I’ll run it through until March 2024 and then make a big year-long compilation video. A year of drinking coffee in the woods.

It’s the same woodland, Uffmoor Woods, a small wooded area at the foot of the Clent Hills here in Worcestershire. You’ll see Uffmoor Woods change, along with the leaves, the wildlife, the insects and the birdsong. Stick around for the journey, and say hello in the YouTube comments.

I hope you find this enjoyable, and that it inspires just one person to go and make a coffee in the woods.

Let’s start with April…

Coffee in the woods - April

We start this series in April. IMO, by far the easiest month of the year to rustle up the motivation to do something like this. After a long cold winter of being too scared to turn the central heating on, the temperature has risen to a pleasant 16c, and the woods are alive with new growth and the sound of birdsong.

I donned my wellies and made my way along the still very muddy paths into the heart of Uffmoor Woods. I’ll vary the location within the woodland in each episode, to give a bit of variation, while maintaining the ability to make some comparisons as the seasons change. The location of this one was easy, I just followed my nose.

The fragrant waft of wild garlic was pungent in the warm spring air, and I soon ended up at a lovely patch of bluebell-filled woodland. Its slightly raised ground gave some dry areas above the wet boggy garlic-filled areas that I had just walked through.

I settled down and got a brew on, listening to some intermittent barking deer amongst the sounds of Coal Tits, Chiffchaffs and Blackbirds.

By the way, all sound and video is genuine, and recorded on location. There’s no funny business going on in these episodes. I’m trying to create an authentic experience. On this occasion, you’ll also hear Great Tit, Blue Tit, Wren, Thrush, Robin, Wood-Pigeon, and even towards the end, a low-flying Canada Goose. I have no idea what they’re doing over the woodland.

Coffee in the woods - May

It’s May, it’s a little warmer, so they tell me, but it’s still very soggy. Incredibly soggy, we’ve had a wet few weeks. It was time to once again don the wellies and head into Uffmoor woods to follow the scent of wild garlic.

This time, a few weeks later, the garlic was out in full force, filling the low-lying areas of the woodland floor with its pungent white buds. The bluebells were now at their best too, and I’ve been spending a fair bit of time out and about in the Clent Hills using them to add some colour to my landscape photography. Check out some of my other YouTube videos for that, there’s even one called “Steak and wild garlic in the woods”, brilliant. What a delight that is. We’re very lucky to live in such a country where this is possible.

Anyway, coffee in the woods. The paths, they’re still very wet and muddy, particularly the paths I took. I wanted to be amongst the wild garlic, so favoured the wet low lying ground, that’s where it grows. My personal path, however, that’s a little more unclear. As in, I don’t really have one. I mucked around filming whatever took my eye, and whatever felt different to May. I filmed the wild garlic, the bluebells, some mushrooms, and a slug. Yes, a slug. Some little baby snails too.

I got a brew on amongst the garlic, picked a bit to take home, and stood around on that soggy ground to take it all in.

Birdsong for May was pretty similar to April, with my app (Merlin Bird ID), this time also picking up Eurasian Blackcap, Eurasian Skylark, White Wagtail and European Goldfinch. See you in June.

Coffee in the woods - June

It’s June, and blimey it has been warm. So warm in fact that I got my milk bottles out for this month’s trip into Uffmoor.

I’ve been into my birds a bit recently. Not twitching, not even bird watching, but bird listening. So it was cool to be greeted immediately with a new one as I entered the wood. The sound of a Eurasian Jay.

I took the now dry path a few hundred metres toward the middle of the woodland and veered off into some much-needed shaded ground, settling down at an old fallen tree to set up coffee camp.

Eurasian Jackdaws battled it out in the trees nearby as a Robin tried hard to make himself heard. Coffee was served in a cafetiere, proper posh ay I? Moving up in the world with a coffee in the woods upgrade!

The bluebells are wilting up into dry pods ready to sow their seed, and the wild garlic is gone. I saw a few grey squirrels, something not too common in this woodland. I wonder why? They’re very common elsewhere locally. Perhaps it’s the wrong type of woodland, or the lack of ivy?

I found a shotgun cartridge on this outing, I’ve found a few more in the past. Uffmoor Woods is managed by the Woodland Trust and hunting is prohibited, but I keep finding them. The woods are still full of deer, we heard them in Coffee in the woods - April, hopefully, we’ll see them at some point.

A pleasant June coffee in the woods. Pleased it’s drying out!

Coffee in the woods - July

It’s July, and after a bonkers few weeks at work, and a bout of salmonella food poisoning, I can’t tell you how much I was looking forward to getting back out for a coffee in the woods. A project which started on a whim was now something that had a proper purpose. It’s much more than a bloke drinking coffee in the woods. It’s documenting how the woodland changes, without seeming like I’m documenting how the woodland changes. It’s relaxing in the woods with a coffee, without seeming like I’m trying to relax in the woods with a coffee. It’s a few hours amongst nature, without the NEED to spend a few hours amongst nature.

I don’t know what I’m trying to say here really, it’s just coffee in the woods, and it’s July.

The weather has been so-so, June’s warm weather has given way to a bit of rain as we head into the second part of the year, finally. I’ve kept the shorts on this month but dug out my jacket, yes, in July.

This month’s episode is all about the deer. They finally made an appearance, quite a few appearances. Maybe it’s the time of the year?

I made my way to a bit of a clearing deep inside Uffmoor and got a brew on, proper coffee, remember? Maybe it was the smell but over the next hour, I must have had 10 deer stroll right up to me for a closer look. A few of them got into a little staring match, and it made for some interesting video. I’ll direct you there, it’s much more interesting to watch and listen than read my pontifications.

I recognised a new bird for July, a Garden Warbler, and had a very noisy Chiffchaff who seemed to be following me around.

The deer were awesome. Pleased to finally get close enough to the illusive Uffmoor Deer to include them in a video.

Which type of deer are they? They’re Star-bucks.

Coffee in the Woods - August

Well, summer has been a bit of a letdown. I’ve never before seen mainstream news and weather media big up a hot summer like they did this year. We had promises of “it’s going to be the hottest summer since records began”, “a scorcher’, blah blah blah. Absolute nonsense. It has got to be closer to “the coldest wettest summer since records began”. What a shame.

Regardless, I got back out into the woods to make the August episode. The mud this year has not dried out at all, but it’s all still very green and pleasant, I shouldn’t complain, I’m not really a fan of blisteringly hot weather anyway.

There’s a bit of browning up already, in the leaves as well as the fern, a sure sign that autumn is already on its way. I’m not surprised that the plants think that, given how cold it has been. Fingers crossed for a warm next few months, there’s still hope of an Indian summer.

The blackberries have started to fill the side of the paths, although they’re a bit on the tangy side, and the wet ground has given life to a load of new mushrooms. I wish I knew a bit more about foraging, it seems like a good mushroom year. Oddly, we were lacking birdsong in the August episode unfortunately, I’m not sure why that is. It was quite early in the day, but at a time when the woods are usually alive with sound. Bizarre. So you’ll find the video a bit quiet. Quiet but authentic. All sounds are recorded on location. I refuse to do any trickery. It is what it is.

What about my tree? Do you recognise it? I came to this exact same spot in the June episode. Since then the tree trunk has rotted through and collapsed in the middle. It’s a big old beast and it would have gotten very wet in the last few weeks, I’m not surprised it broke under its own weight, just feels a little odd to see it like that. And now with even more mushrooms and bugs, giving more life back to the woodland.

There seems to be a load of spiders at this time of year. I’d guess that with the leaves at their fullest, so are the populations of flies, bugs and mozzies etc, giving the creepy crawlies plenty of food. I saw a couple of muntjack deer, but didn’t bother trying to film them, instead allowing them to slowly wander by as I focused on yet another slug. This one had been through the wars. It has a hole in its side and just carried on slugging away. Like me, with the August episode. See you next month. Out.

Coffee in the woods - September

It’s September. Bloody hell that went by quickly.

After a cold wet summer, we were finally treated to a week of half decent weather in early September. It finally gave Uffmoor Woods a little chance to dry out, but it never quite made it. This is the first summer I can remember where the paths never quite dried out. Bizarre, but nice to have a cool wet summer, I guess, after all the climate change alarm these past couple of years.

The first of the leaves have started to turn orange and fall down to the forest floor, a sure sign that Autumn is just around the corner. I’m looking forward to more of that in October.

Also of note for September is that it’s peak spider season here in the UK, and the Clent Hills area is full of them. I was constantly brushing them from my face as I walked through the woods, and their webs made for some interesting shots. You’ll probably also start to see a load more around the house at this time of year. Spiders are most active in September and October in the UK.

It was nice to see a few butterflies. I expect September will be the last time I see any this year.

The squirrels were in good form. It’s feast time for them, they’re busy eating and burying acorns and nuts while making load of noise to protect their areas and make their presence known. It was great to sit and listen to this, and I captured a load on the video. If you’ve ever seen the movie “Mars Attacks’, the squirrel sounds will be familiar.

Also in fine form were the blackberries. That long spell of cold wet weather this summer has produced a bumper crop of these lovely free little fruits. I scoffed a load in the woods and couldn’t resist taking a load home for a crumble. Although, they didn’t quite make it that far. They were picked at and disappeared far too quickly. Ah well, must have been a tenners worth of blackberries, I’ll just pop out and grab some more tomorrow.

The singing…. definitely not me. I promise. Kudos to whoever you are, the Uffmoor Woods singing dog walker.

September. Out.

Coffee in the woods - October

The Woodland Trust has decided to carry out some work in Uffmoor Woods, and they didn’t even consult me to ask about my audio requirements…..

So to create the October episode in peace, I set out into the woods bright and early. I was immediately met with a whole load of deer barks as I walked down the now familiar path into the heart of the woodland. It was nice to stop and listen to this again, but it got better, as I noticed that the barks were interlaced with the occasional deep throaty grunt of a stag. Brilliant. I did my best to pick up as much of the audio as I could and stealthily started to hunt the stag, with my camera and mic of course.

I caught up with the big old beast half an hour later and even managed to capture him on video, briefly, with his antlers poking out from the undergrowth in the distance. I’ll take that.

With a deer shot in the bag, I got a bit noisier and headed off to find a fallen tree to get a brew on. This month I noticed quite a few more mushrooms, many with nice little bite marks. I captured a few shots of that in the video. Very cool.

Luckily there were a lot fewer spiders this month, peak spider time must be over, I didn’t even get any in my beard. Brilliant.

The mud is back with a vengeance, it’s definitely wellie season again. Wellie season in Uffmoor Woodwoods is from September to July…

And for some more bad news, all the bloody blackberries have gone. All of them. The last time I was here I had a feast, this time, just a handful of Hawthorn berries on the way home. Nice, but not the same. Roll on next September.

All in all, I couldn’t help but think October felt a bit bleak. Maybe it was the overcast weather, or maybe jit was ust knowing what lies ahead…. November to February, it’s going to get interesting.

October. Out.

Coffee in the woods - November

Finally, it’s November. I’ve been looking forward to this one! Time to soak up some Autumn colour.

Today, armed with a top-notch Clent Hills weather forecast from the Met Office (rare), I arrived at Uffmoor Woods car park in the pouring rain, sat there for 5 minutes, and ventured into Uffmoor Woods just as the sunshine arrived. Perfect timing, for once.

I donned the wellies and took a slightly different route to a new coffee stop spot underneath some still-dripping oaks. I spotted and few Fly Agarics for the first time this year, and a load of small young Amethyst Decievers. Red berries filled the holly bushes, and the whole place was filled with autumn colour. We’re still in the UK deer rutting season, and there were plenty of barks and grunts to be heard again this month.

On a bit of a tangent, I also filmed “Coffee in the rain” here in Uffmoor Woods. We’ve had a few storms push through recently and I managed to get out and film one. I’ll keep it separate from this series, but it was cool to see it like that. Groundwater everywhere, and with some new rivers and streams.

Great time to be out in the woods, roll on December. Out.

Coffee in the woods - December

December saw a brief spell of cold crisp air that would have been perfect for coffee in the woods, but instead, I went for a quick wild camp up on the Long Mynd, I couldn’t resist. Since then, it has been warm, wet and windy pretty much every day. I’ve waited and waited for those idyllic winter conditions, but with Christmas just around the corner, and a busy run-up to the new year, I got forced out to make the December episode on Wednesday 20th in warm, dull, miserable weather. Dreams of frozen leaves and spider webs glistening in the sun were left at home, with my last bit of optimism and the boxes of mince pies.

I couldn’t help but reminisce about where this project started as I wandered once more through Uffmoor Woods. Gorgeous April weather, Bluebells and wild garlic everywhere, bright sunshine, loud birdsong, deer encounters… December was a struggle. I’m not going to lie.

The change since November is remarkable. It’s hard to believe really, it feels like a different place, but I guess that was the whole point of this series.

The mud is back with a vengeance, and standing water seems to be everywhere, but it made for some cool reflections. The staggeringly colourful leaves of just a few weeks ago are all now missing, quickly disappearing into the rotting forest floor, which has already lost its crunch after the recent incessant rain.

There are still some cool mushrooms to be found, those that the deer havn’t ravaged, but it’s starting to feel a bit desolate. The streams are flowing well, and the mud is still very muddy. No surprises there, it never really dried out at all this year, but I’m hoping it does way to some hard frozen ground at some point.

Some decent birdsong this month, with the nuthatches being the stars of the show. I followed them around for a bit as they swarmed through the treetops, before settling down for my coffee in the location they seemed to like to hang around, it made for a relaxing brew.

So, not much to report this month. Bare trees, lack of leaves, lack of colour, and a load of tree damage. The wind was up, and it made capturing the sound quite difficult. And I saw a load of fly-tipping on the edge of the woods on the way home…. but other than that, all good, it’s nearly Christmas, and I’ve got my fingers crossed for some colder weather in January. I promise I won’t disappear wild camping this time.

December. Out.

Coffee in the Woods - January

It was nice to get out into Uffmoor for the January episode during a spell of cold weather. A gap in the handful of storms we’ve had allowed for some brisk northerly winds to push through some cool crisp dry air that froze the woodland.

Firm underfoot, the ground produced some nice sounds, and the birds too were more than happy to be drenched in some gorgeous low winter sun, with the Eurasian Nuthatches and Blue Tits once again kicking up a huge fuss.

It’s mid-January, and there are already some good signs of growth in the woods. Brushing away the rotting autumn leaves reveals some early bluebells, and a few of the trees are already starting to bud up. Won’t be long till the wild garlic returns. Looking forward to it, it’s bloody freezing, and I’ve got the steaks ready.

January, out.

Coffee in the Woods - February

February felt a little bit like December. I’ve spent some time waiting around for some cool crisp weather and a dusting of snow, but it didn’t happen. So after a week of mild weather and near-constant rain, I took a few hours to get out into the gloopy woods.

Other than that thick sticky gloopy brown stuff, the biggest noticeable change in February is the abundance of wild garlic already pushing its way up through the rotting autumn leaves. So this month I ended up back in the location where I shot the Garlic Galore episode in May. It looks and smells a lot different.

I walked past a few natural springs in the ground on the way in. I’m fairly certain these aren’t there all year round, or at least aren’t noticeable anyway. That said, this location is just a few hundred meters away from the source of the River Stour, so I’d say these are pretty much the source too. As good as, anyway.

The birds are almost back to their full spring-sounding glory, so they more than made up for the lack of sunlight in this episode. Again.

One more month to go, March, to finally complete this series. I’ve got my fingers crossed for some ice and snow, but I’m not very confident, and happy for spring to soon roll around again and bring with it this wild garlic in full bloom.

February. Out.

Coffee in the woods - March

And finally, month 12, that’s a full year of drinking coffee in the woods! Bonkers.

March started out with the now very normal gloopy walk along the muddy path into the area I was keen to get a wild garlic update on. It didn’t disappoint.

The leaves have come on a good amount, and the garlic buds are developing beneath the surface, brilliant. It’s almost spring.

The air is already filled with the pungent smell of wild garlic, and I can still smell it on my clothes now as I type this, some 6 hours later.

I walked on along the stream and came across a fallen tree covered with King Alfred’s Cakes. These little beauties make great fire starters, so I broke a few off and filled my pockets. I’ve been naming these Coffee in the Woods videos with alliterations, because it cracks me up, but couldn’t think of one for this episode. The closest I could come up with was “Monarch Muffins”, but I ditched it last minute and uploaded it to YouTube as “King Alfred’s Cakes’, failed at the final hurdle, ah well. I’ve heard nothing but BS about King Charles and “Where is Kate Middleton?” for weeks, I thought old King Alfred was worthy of a mention.

I returned to my old spot with the fallen tree that you may recognise from previous episodes. I haven’t been here in a few months, and it was surprising to see how much lower it was after the winter. Only 12 months ago it was freshly fallen, and now it’s well and truly on its way to being decomposed into the forest floor.

The air is warmer today, but the sunlight was lacking. Actually, I swear it has now been persistently cloudy for about 3 months. I’ll be looking up some weather stats in the future because it seems a bit unusual to me.

Anyway, we lacked the weather and photography conditions but the birdsong more than made up for it, they were as lively as ever. Spring is pretty much here.

I also spent a couple of hours filming the final video of the series, a questions and answers, behind-the-scenes style chat, that will be out soon to round it all off. Cheers all. Chris