A long time ago the wolf centre was asked to attend the Whole Life Festival in Kent, to be held towards the end of March, a new show aimed at those who believe in healing crystals and suchlike. Not my cup of tea really, but as it was in Kent I was very keen on attending! Last July the wolves visited the showground at Detling for the Kent Show and so it was on Thursday I headed back to help set up the cage. Two weeks ago Detling Hill was blanketed in snow, but that seemed far removed as I arrived to find blue skies and a biting easterly wind. Putting up the cage took a fair while, as it involves lots of lifting and bolting to erect. Nonetheless, a few hours afterwards the cage was erected.

As can be seen in the background the wolves had arrived and once the cage was up we let them inside, to survey their new territory. Although we'd been to the showground before we were in a different area, albeit only a few hundred feet from where we were last time.

Duma watches as the stand-off barrier is set up.

The wolves were taken on a quick walk through Murrain Woods as dusk fell, then they went back in the cage whilst we finished setting things up.

Duma and Dakota put on a dominance display.

The first day of the show, Friday, dawned overcast and murky on Sheppey, with some drizzle. The Kent County Showground is around 600 feet above sea level, high atop the Downs and to my surprise it was foggy - all due to the very low cloud base. My surprise continued when the wolves started howling! Until now I've not seen the wolves howl away from home, although I've heard of it happening rarely. If a wolf howls and they're outside their territory it can be seen as alerting other wolves to their presence - not a good idea! As a bit of trivia that would have been the first time a wolf howl was heard over the Downs in well over 500 years.

The clouds lifted later in the day and although it was very quiet we were able to go through the usual routine of telling people about the wolves and bringing in groups of people for "meet and greets". There was a flurry of excitement a bit later as Toyah Wilcox popped over for a visit, after opening the show.

There were also opportunities to spend some time in with the wolves, although given the overnight rain it wasn't a day for lazing around on the grass with the wolves.

Duma presenting her belly for a scratch.

In the evening there was something else new, a wolf walk for some 30 people who had booked their spaces in the autumn of last year. I looked after the shop whilst they headed off and once they'd come back it was time to pack up for the day and head for home.

Saturday dawned sunny, but I'd checked the Met Office charts and seen a warm front was due for the afternoon. The wolves were taken out for an early morning walk, to stretch their legs and the sight of the wolves trotting over the showground was something I'll not forget in a hurry! Nor will I forget the fantastic howling the sisters performed once they were back in their cage. It started off as a normal howl, then turned into something almost like a rally, with some quite unusual sounds mixed in. Some of us were speculating they were doing that as they weren't getting any replies to their howls, but we'll never know for sure.

The wolves on their walk, with the members' pavilion in the background.

Some visitors also came along with hotdogs, which got the wolves excited as they thought they were going to get a treat. They didn't that time, but later on in the day we gave them some frankfurters. Of the two I gave to Duma, one was swallowed in a single chomp, the other bounced off her head and landed in the water bucket with a big splash. Needless to say Duma stuck her head in straight away and emerged, snorting, having caught the hotdog. Interestingly she became quite possessive of the bucket and pawed at it afterwards even though there was nothing other than water in it - perhaps the smell of the sausage made her think there were more hidden around somewhere.

The sun was most welcome and helped dry things out a bit, although it wasn't to last for long. We also had a visit from Radio Kent and a minor TV station that broadcasts on the Astra satellites.

In the afternoon the clouds lowered again and we watched as tendrils of mist appeared over the trees - a few minutes later the showground was shrouded in fog once again. The heavens opened, the wind really got up and unsurprisingly we were exceptionally quiet after that. Here's a picture that says a thousand words, a reminder that volunteering at the Trust isn't just about stroking wolves! It's amazing just how cold 11C can feel, subjectively far, far colder than the 5s and 6s of the previous week.

The conditions may have been wretched, but it didn't deter the evening walkers, most of whom seemed to enjoy it despite the rain.

Sunday started with something I've not seen much of lately and something that by the time I'm at Detling again in the summer will be a thing of the past. A bridge lift, cutting off the Island from the mainland for a few minutes. The new bridge can be seen in the background and it'll open in around two months.

At the showground it was at least dry after overnight rain, but the ground around our stall had turned into a quagmire. The morning walk was through the woods and I couldn't help thinking how delayed things were compared with this time last year when I visited on a scouting mission. Then the woods were ablaze with bluebells, looking very picturesque. This time the green shoots were visible but not much else could be seen.

I was intrigued to see the wolves didn't scent mark much at all, whereas in the woods near Reading they're forever scratching around to mark their territory. There was a late flurry of scent marking though, interestingly enough over the area where we had the stall for the Kent Show. Could the wolves remember it from last summer? Quite possibly...

Once again there was some howling once the wolves were back in the cage, although even then someone walked past without even glancing at Dakota. Just for the record, here's some video evidence that wolves can and do howl away from their territory - note the wind sounds in the background!

http://www.medvale.net/wolves/detling/howl.avi

Once again the heavens opened later on and it was incredibly soggy as we started dismantling things in the evening. The final walk went without a hitch and I was amazed anew at the sight of the familiar Kentish woods with the wolves loping through them - it was a wonderful thing to see. Eventually the wolves went back to Beenham whilst the rest of us dismantled the cage in the thickest fog I've seen since I visited Scilly a few years back. I then said my goodbyes and headed for home, exhausted, wet but happy to have seen the wolves returning once again to the Garden of England.

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