HS2: Stories Behind The Line: the local press writing to save 'Roald Dahl Woods'

Roald Dahl Woods (Wendover Resistance Camp) Credit: Ross Monoghan

As the prospect of a viaduct and a tunnel to facilitate HS2 draws closer, the local press push back against the destruction of the woods Roald Dahl was once inspired by.

"On a hill above a valley there was a wood. In the wood there was a huge tree. Under the tree there was a hole. In the hole live Mr Fox and Mrs Fox and their four Small Foxes"

Roald Dahl, Fantastic Mr Fox

Those are the words written by Roald Dahl from his famous novel Fantastic Mr Fox. The place Dahl writes of when he imagines this enchanting environment, is said to be a small woodland situated in the Buckinghamshire countryside. The Jones Hill wood can be found on the edge of the English market town, Wendover. It is said that the wood was an inspiration and a setting for the book. Now though, this is one of many ancient woodlands under threat from a new, national infrastructure project which has only recently been given the go ahead.

HS2: Stories Behind The Line looks to learn more about the people and communities set to be affected by the new tramlines, to find out how their lives will change as the project progresses, for the better or for the worse.

Wendover is a rural market town amongst the Chiltern Hills of Buckinghamshire. Weaving between the hills into the town centre, passing quintessential English houses with thatched roofs, you find yourself surrounded by small independent shops. The sun beams down onto the central clock tower and glistens in the windows of the stores, highlighting goods the owners wish to sell. HS2 will visit this quaint English community early on in it's journey north, but to make sure it does so, the construction work in the area is set to be huge.

Wendover (Credit: Jane Larkham)

A group of news organisations in the area find themselves at the forefront of opposition to HS2. Hayley O'Keeffe is the Editor at The Bucks Herald, a weekly newspaper covering the nearby town of Aylesbury and the wider community, including Wendover. The Herald has set up a campaign against the proposed route. She said a previous editor told her: "HS2 is something that the vast majority of our readers are against, so our coverage should reflect that."

The team set up the HS2: Enough is Enough campaign, which includes a Facebook group with over 1,000 members. "It's great for my reporters because they can't be everywhere at once, and this group is often their eyes and ears for good story tips," Hayley explained. When she became editor in 2018, they decided to take a harder stance against the project. She said: "This is one of the defining issues of this area, and it's our responsibility to properly represent our readers, otherwise what is the point of a local paper?"

The rolling hills of the English countryside which Wendover sits in, leaves the line with quite a few obstacles in it's path. The plans to overcome these obstacles include a new viaduct and a tunnel. This comes with considerable disruption for local people and woodland, one of these being the Roald Dahl woods.

Jane Markham is the editor at the local news organisation Wendover News. First established in 1989, Wendover News serves local people with community stories every month and has been vital in informing them about updates to HS2 in the area. Mrs Markham explained: "HS2 are planning to build a viaduct which will go over the A413 and then into a tunnel.

"Those woods are definitely going to be repossessed and where this viaduct is going through," Jane said.

She explains that the farmers, Boggis, Bunce and Bean in the Roald Dahl classic Fantastic Mr Fox, are the actual names of the farmers who lived on the outskirts of the wood. Jane said: "he didn't disguise their names, he was friends with them.

"He used to walk around those woods and the farmers are still there but their land is on the verge of being repossessed," she explained.

To try and protect this ancient woodland, a camp has been set up to protest against the proposed construction. The Wendover Active Resistance Camp is formed of a group of environmentalists who live in the woodland and amongst the trees. Jane said: "they came to us early this year, they are an environmental group”. The campaigners have set up spots with safety netting high up in the trees to spend most of their days.

Wendover Resistance Camp (Credit: Ross Monoghan)

The camp is one of many community stories the local press feel the need to tell, in order to reflect the views of their readers and provide some form of protection for the countryside they live within.