I had a one-day work course to attend in Bristol which finished late afternoon. Hmmm, what to do with myself next? Hang on, the Forest of Dean can't be a million miles away can it? You get Wild Boar in there I'd heard....

And so it was that I found myself driving without any site gen towards boar country. Would I jam into any, would I luck out? I drove towards Cinderford, crested a hill and suddenly there was The Forest laid out before me, blanketing the hills and valleys. Blimey, I hadn't realised quite how extensive it was! This could be a bit of a needle-in-a-haystack affair. I had absolutely no idea of the 'best' places to start looking so simply followed the road out of town and into the forest.

After a mere half a mile I pulled up sharply - the roadside verges had been ripped up in large patches, and it didn't look like highways maintenance to me. I parked rather haphazardly and walked back to examine the damaged verge. No doubt about it, the grass had been grubbed up and overturned by large animals with cloven hoofs, I could see impressions of their tracks in the dirt!!! Bingo, I'd jammed into fresh boar damage. But how fresh? A nearby side road into the trees seemed too appealing to ignore, so I drove in and parked up next to yet more boar feeding signs. Another check led me to believe that they had fed here very recently, probably last night. Looking to the trees I noticed a wiremesh fence running alongside the road. One section had been pushed up and bent into a raised arch about 30 inches high at the apex. Masses of hoofprints in the bare mud led into and out of the forest. I grabbed my camera, locked the van and set off into the woodland.

Pretty soon I saw signs of feeding activity on the woodland floor, huge great areas grubbed over, small bulbs (bluebells?) revealed here and there. Bracken had been squashed underfoot, elsewhere fronds were bent over, underside being topside. More tracks. I found a wallow. More signs of grubbed up earth. Much fresher too, none of the revealed soil had dried yet, it looked minutes old...more tracks, then finally some droppings. Large and squishy stuff, maybe this individual had dodgy guts? More tracks, more grubbed up areas, getting very fresh now! I noticed how some tracks were smaller than most, half-grown piglets maybe? Would I meet a confrontational sow? I saw a large rock and picked it up. Not sure what I intended to do with it, but it made me feel a little more secure. I began eyeing up the trees in case I needed a quick getaway. Most seemed pretty tricky to climb but I figured I'd suss it out soon enough if I was charged by an angry boar!

The trees were getting denser and denser. I was by now creeping along at the rate of one footstep every few seconds, desperately trying to remain as silent as possible. I make quite a decent Stealth Ninja and was confident of not spooking any boar until quite close. The complete lack of a breeze helped, the fact that I was sweating like a beast probably didn't. My adrenalin was running just a bit higher than normal but I felt a kind of nervous calm, if that makes any sense whatsoever?

Suddenly the trees ended and I found myself at another fence (this one also bent out of shape by boars passing underneath) with a wide grassy ride separating me from the next set of tree cover. The ground was a mass of tracks. I climbed the fence and pushed deeper into the forest, but soon turned back due to intense horsefly activity and the fact that lots of fallen wood lay buried under the long grass and my progress was being punctuated by frequent loud 'cracks' as I stepped on the hidden branches.

Back in the woodland I'd already been through I figured my best bet was to come back after dusk. Maybe the boar were holed-up, waiting for darkness to fall? I knew they were in there, the signs were everywhere and very fresh too. I retreated back to the van and explored the local area finding more signs of roadside rootings further south. Eventually the light began to fade and I headed back to my first site. Parking the van I grabbed my binoculars and set off back into the trees. A female Tawny Owl and Woodpigeons settling down to roost were the only sounds. Not even a breeze stirred the treetops. Perfect!

I headed straight to the area about three quarters of the way towards the second fenceline, this is where I'd found the freshest feeding signs and droppings. My progress was painfully slow, I was desperate not to step on a twig or brush through low birch hangs. I was alert to any noise. Nothing. I pressed on deeper. I thought I heard a noise ahead, maybe a rustle of bracken? I froze. Nothing. I waited. Nothing. I inched onwards. Suddenly a loud "BRUUUU" called out right in front of me and I felt several heavy footfalls as a large animal ran off into cover a little way ahead. Sudden silence, my heart began to hammer even faster. Shit, I'd spooked a boar from very close by and it knew where I was better than I knew where it was. I still had my rock in hand. I felt ridiculously unprotected. Nobody even knew I was in Gloucestershire, much less deep in a forest at night with a boar somewhere just ahead of me. Shit, what a damned fool. I slowly sank into a squat position and forced myself to scan the vegetation ahead of me. I also noted the tree I would aim for if the boar charged. I recalled a story I heard as a child of a herd of peccaries that chased a man up a tree and waited beneath for three days before wandering off and allowing him to escape. Shiiiiiiiit....I wished I had a torch right now. 

A minute passed, then another. I hadn't moved, but then neither had the boar. Thankfully I then heard it moving around, further away than I'd realised. A few muffled twig snaps and a rustle. Definitely further away than I'd thought it was. Guess I wasn't the only one present moving very quietly! I relaxed a little, I'd just slowly back away and be content with my encounter despite not seeing the animal. I'd set up vigil along the roadside and wait from the security of the van. Before I could do anything though the undergrowth behind me started to noisily rustle as something large moved through at speed. My heart leapt into my mouth, oh shiiiit - I couldn't see far enough in the gloom. I stayed in my squat position and trusted the boar would pass right by me, unaware of my presence. Suddenly I saw it - FKK IT'S HUGE!!!!! A large Wild Boar emerged from bracken, stopped for a second then walked on a few steps. Then it stopped again, had it sensed me? From where I was squatting it appeared to almost loom overhead, the elongated snout protruding from the large head was most noticeable. No neck or shoulders, just the large head and a large body. We stared at each other for a few seconds then, with surprising speed and agility, it ran away into cover and was gone. I stayed in my crouch for another minute, wondering if I was surrounded and how best to get out of here. 

I figured that by far the worst thing I could do would be to surprise one, so I slowly stood up (grinning from ear to ear like a complete lunatic!), clapped my hands on my thighs a couple of times then started a running dialogue between myself and any nearby boars, "Hey pigs, I'm going now. Yup, just slowly backing away and heading off. Been great meeting you guys, but I'm just gonna calmly remove myself from your woods. Definitely nothing to be frightened of, just a man slowly leaving you alone now. No need to panic and charge me, no gouging required at all. So yep, I'm definitely still leaving now..." etc etc etc. All the way back to the van, lol.

Back at the van I could hear snufflings and leaf litter being moved around, but nothing more than that. The area seems to be in the middle of boar territory. I couldn't see any tree damage, but the tracks, pathways, wallow, feeding signs, droppings and, of course, the animals themselves prove their presence here beyond all doubt. I saved the site in my satnav ("Boars - F of Dean") for future reference. I'm very definitely coming back here again, but next time with a proper ghillie suit and torches. Maybe a long sharp stick too, just in case? Absolutely stunning, I've never before felt in danger from a wild animal, and in truth I doubt I ever was in any danger. But the thrill of the threat...wow, I won't ever forget my first Wild Boar encounter!!!!