There's something stirring in the woods. STEPHEN LEWIS reports.

DEEP in a wooded valley, a woodpecker hammers out a message on the trunk of a tree. The call echoes weirdly through the mist-shrouded forest before fading away. Bare winter branches reach for the sky. The only sound is the scratching of a crow and the sighing of wind through the trees.

A bank of cloud drifts into a fold in the wooded hillside. Otherwise, all is still.

Then there is movement. A rustling of branches, a quivering of treetops. A metallic roar cuts through the stillness, and out of the murk further up the valley a gigantic shape rears, an uprooted sapling clutched in its metal talons. It growls up the valley towards us, the young tree held high.

Welcome to the first day of work on a £4.3 million project to "spruce up" Dalby Forest and turn it into one of the region's great visitor attractions.

During the next few years, if all goes to plan, the 8,500-acre forest will be opened up and equipped with new visitor facilities. Among the plans: 40kms of new mountain-biking trails, a new observatory, a treetop walk and a new visitor centre with restaurant, shop, viewing terrace, exhibition area and its own photo-voltaic cells to provide power.

Funding is already in place for the first phase of the project - an £860,000 scheme to upgrade the visitor centre to build six craft workshops, a resource and conference centre and a permanent cycle-hire outlet.

The metallic yellow monster with a sapling in its talons is a JCB digger beginning work on day one of the scheme. Its mission: to "surgically transplant" a row of young trees growing where the extended car park will be and move them to safer ground further away.

"We'd prefer to transport the trees rather than cutting them down," says Andrew Smith, the Forestry Commission's forest district manager. "We want to keep the whole scheme as green as possible."

What is happening at Dalby Forest is a sign of the times. The Forestry Commission likes to describe it as Great Yorkshire Forest, but don't be deceived into thinking this is ancient woodland. There may have been royal forest here long ago - this region was once part of the medieval Royal Forest of Pickering, where monarchs from William I to Richard III hunted game such as wild boar - but by the time the Forestry Commission came along in 1923 there was little left but rabbit warrens and rough moorland grazed by sheep.

The commission began planting quick-growing pine and spruce to bolster timber reserves, and the forest was born. By the 1930s a worker's camp had been established, and the forest produced wood for pit props and fencing.

It wasn't until the 1960s, however, that the forest's potential as a tourist attraction began to be realised. The forest drive was completed, allowing cars to drive through the entire forest: and since then a series waymarked trails have been set up for walkers, and about 50km of cycle trails.

So successful were they that Dalby was recently named one of the top ten places in the country to go mountain biking.

About 250,000 people a year now visit the forest to enjoy its shady woods and sunny glades - and recreation outstrips tree felling as the forest's main source of income.

But all that's been done so far has only scratched the surface of the forest's potential as a visitor destination, Mr Smith says.

Part of the problem is accessibility. Because of its sheer size, much of the forest remains inaccessible to walkers on foot, despite the waymarked trails.

"It is just too big to walk around," says Mr Smith.

The mountain bike trails, while popular, are not ideal. They are all 'green rides', which quickly become rutted and virtually impassable in bad weather.

The four new cycle routes aim to redress that.

These will be single-track 'off road' routes which will make the forest accessible to cyclists of all abilities, from families to experienced off-roaders. And the cycle-hire facilities will let you enjoy the riding without having to load bikes on the roof of the car.

Off-road biking is already popular in Wales and Scotland and there is no reason why it shouldn't be a hit here, says Mr Smith. "We have the advantage of being on the dry side of the country, and the terrain here is gently rolling. You do get exercise going uphill, but it's not going to exhaust you."

Installing the new cycle trails - expected to cost about £500,000 - will be the second phase of the £4.3 million project.

The Treetop Walk, if it comes off, is also expected to be a big draw. It will feature platforms high up in the trees, linked by a 'scramble net' and with rope slides to get back down.

This 'high adrenaline' activity will let people see the forest from a different angle - and best of all, they will be able to enjoy the forest without trampling the plans and flowers below.

The key to unlocking the potential of this beautiful corner of the North York Moors national park could be the new visitor centre.

Built entirely of wood and glass, it will provide a base for exploring the forest. There isn't even somewhere to sit down and have a cup of tea at the moment, Mr Smith points out - only an outdoors refreshment kiosk.

All that will change if funding is secured for the centre. It will include a classroom, information points, interactive displays, ranger offices, a restaurant and shop - and new twin domes to house the Scarborough and District Astronomical Society's Dalby Forest observatory.

The forest, far away from the light pollution of more built-up areas, is one of the best places in the region to observe the night sky.

The astronomical society already has two telescopes - an 11 inch and a 12 inch - at its observatory in the forest, which is open on the first Friday night of every month for free guided tours of the night sky.

The new observatory will be a huge improvement, says society president John Harper, with room for a new 20-inch telescope. "It will be a very good telescope, giving impressive views of the planets and also deep space objects such as galaxies which are light years away."

John has a dream that things may go even further. "I hope that ultimately we may even get a planetarium here," he says. "Then, on wet afternoons, people could come indoors for a tour of the night skies."

The next evening of public stargazing at Dalby Forest with the Scarborough and District Astronomical Society is on Friday, February 6 from 8-11pm.

A forest of ideas...

Phase 1, building a new resource centre and converting buildings around the existing visitor centre into craft workshops and a purpose-designed cycle-hire outlet, began yesterday and is expected to be completed within 12 months. Funding for this first £860,000 phase has been provided through the Forestry Commission, the EC's Objective 2 programme, Yorkshire Forward and Ryedale District Council. The forest will remain open throughout the work.

Phase 2, expected to cost £500,000, will see the creation of 40kms of new off-road bike trails, designed to open the forest up.

Phase 3 will be the £2.5 million visitor centre. The Treetop Walk would be built and run by GoApe.

Funding for phases 2 and 3 has yet to be finalised, although the Forestry Commission has had "positive noises' from the European community, says Mr Smith. "We are now working with our partners to complete the funding package, with a target date of 2006 to have all the work completed."

Updated: 09:48 Tuesday, February 03, 2004