Now for something a little different. On Saturday 17th July at 10am the club will be meeting at the carpark at Cairn Wood for a guided walk into the old growth forest to study the characteristics of old trees and discuss how we can emulate this in our bonsai.

The wood has some stunning Beech, Oak, Sycamore, Birch and Scots Pine showing great deadwood and growing in many styles such as raft, multi-trunk etc.

Some stunning views from the top of the wood overlooking Strangford Lough.

We plan to walk at a slow pace with frequent stops over a 4-5 km loop. Nothing too strenuous but we will be leaving the hardcore path for roughly half the walk and the trails are uneven with a lot of trip hazards. Please dress appropriately.

We will also be looking at the forest floor and seeing what we can use for inspiration for accents and kusamono.

There is also a small chance that we might get a sighting of the elusive Cairn Wood Yeti!

Interested in joining us? We start the walk at 10am sharp. As there’s a take away coffee van in the car park I would suggest arrival between 9.30 and 10am allowing us to grab a coffee before we start the walk.

The location for Satnav for those who don’t know the area is 21 Craigantlet Road BT23 4TE. For more info or advice please contact us on info@nibonsai.co.uk