Victory Wood plans

A dramatic eye-catching sculpture created by artist Dave Johnson, from a felled Forest of Dean oak planted at Lord Nelson’s request 200 years ago, has been installed at the site’s gateway. Dave worked on it during a 10-day public sculpture event at Westonbirt Arboretum in Gloucestershire, during August, before the hefty piece of timber was shipped to Kent earlier this month.

From the entrance:

A path leads visitors to a footprint of HMS Victory with a nearby poop deck and array of interpretive boards, where they can look out across the site and see a line of precisely placed oaks marking the position of Nelson’s arch enemy, the combined Franco-Spanish fleet.

From the Victory imprint:

A 300-metre track leads guests up a modest incline along a path depicting Admiral Nelson’s line of battle into the thick of the action, where he engaged and defeated the French and Spanish at the Battle of Trafalgar. From this point it is possible to look back and admire Victory Wood’s stunning location, with its breathtaking views across the Kent coastline and the nearby Blean Woods. At present the earmarked plot is open farmland but it will soon be planted with thousands more native broadleaved trees.

At the site’s highest point:

A second eyecatching sculpture in the shape of a giant two-metre tall timber chain link representing our historic connection with the Battle of Trafalgar and the present day and also the link that the new woodland will make between the two areas of ancient woodland, has been installed at the site.

Supporters

Thousands of supporters have already rallied behind Victory Wood to help the Trust reach its £2.2 million fund-raising target. The Trafalgar Woods project has also got the backing from a host of wealthy benefactors, companies and a string of well known celebrities including best-selling author Jilly Cooper, actor Jerome Flynn and TV gardener and writer Alan Titchmarsh. As a result of this vast groundswell of support, we will be able to press ahead with our plans to host a series of ambitious schools and community planting sessions later this autumn. But it is also hoped many more schools with no direct connection to the Kent site will take part in their own events to mark this year’s commemoration of the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar.