Ted meets Tony to discuss how he went about designing and installing replacement props to this ancient oak at Windsor Great Park.
Another lovely old oak pollard bites the dust unnecessarily
Can we afford to lose such key elements of our living heritage – another oak pollard just felled without ceremony as if no one cared about it. Perhaps 350-400 years of life gone in the blink of a chainsaw.
Byron’s Oak – did Byron’s poem come true?
In 1798, the 11 year old Byron planted an oak tree at Newstead Abbey. Sometime later, returning to the Abbey, he found the oak overgrown with weeds and almost dead. 200 years later, Jill goes to see this famous oak marked on OS maps – to find out how the tree fares now……
Byron wrote “Young Oak! when I planted thee deep in the ground, I hoped that thy days would be longer than mine….I water thy stem with my tears, …neglect may have bade thee expire. Oh live then my Oak! Lift thy head for a while, tow’r aloft from the weeds, That clog thy young growth…..”
The Oak Tree and Jill walkabout at Annersley
The Oak Tree (aka Kaye Brennan – campaigner with the Woodland Trust) and Jill join Dave Wood who is walking the Sherwood Forest boundary on a creative perambulation and ACCESS. A walk around Annesley taking in the new All Saints Church, Byrons Walk, Old All Saints Church. Along the way Jill chat’s to Dave about his walk.
3 x very green, green men
Ted walks along Mud Lane in Wiltshire in his green man tee-shirt and meets a tree green man on the way.
Monoliths or stocks at Newark Park
Great to see that the National Trust have saved two old horse chestnut monoliths or as Jerry Ross suggests ‘stocks’ as in stockstill. And so close to the main house. Spectacular!
Have Jill and Ted found a little bit of Narnia?
On their tree-mendous adventures in the Cevennes back in the spring, Ted and Jill find a wardrobe and walk through it into a magical landscape. They’ve never seen anything quite like this -lots of little, old, wrinkly beech pollards. It makes them think of the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. How has it survived? perhaps because it is at the top of the mountain at over 1200m. When were they last cut, are they revered as part of the cultural landscape of this part of France? They will try and find out!
Ancient graffitti – a druid’s tale (Stonehenge tree stories no 1)
Lucy shows us ancient graffitti on an old beech tree. Her grandfather, a druid carved the original symbol and then returned every year and added the date. Its now hard to read the faded marks. Is it ok to carve graffitti like this on a tree?
‘Allo, ‘allo, a French pear tree
Jill and Ted were visiting Lac du Der, the great lake near St Dizier where it is possible to see many wonderful birds including cranes. At the centre near Port du Chantecoq is a lovely old pear tree. Birding and treeing – what a lovely weekend!
RSPB Champion Whitebeam
On a rather windy day in January, we went back to visit this whitebeam. Last April we were tree hunting and Ted spotted this ancient whitebeam near the path as we walked through the RSPB’s Garston Wood. We arranged to go back and visit with the RSPB reserve manager, Toby Branston, to discuss management options. Soon this old tree will have more light as the young ash around it will be reduced, pollarded or coppiced so there is a bigger gap in the canopy for light to reach it. Not too much opening up at this stage, little and often. If you would like to visit this tree follow this link to the tree record on the Ancient Tree Hunt http://www.ancient-tree-hunt.org.uk/WoodlandTrust/Core/TemplateHandler.aspx?NRMODE=Published&NRORIGINALURL=%2frecording%2ftree.htm%3ftree%3d36e5c882-f14a-49c3-b7df-d2c1a22c8cca&NRNODEGUID=%7b55082D75-C3A3-4924-895A-6C78A8193844%7d&NRCACHEHINT=LoggedIn&favourites=add&tree=f88c01dd-ed29-437c-a62d-0212637093fb
