12. Ancient trees at Hatfield Forest, Essex

12/02/22 • 38 min

Woodland Walks - The Woodland Trust Podcast

Join us for an episode of virtual time travel to visit Hatfield Forest, Essex and explore over 2,000 years of rich history. As we journey through this outdoor museum, we chat to Tom Reed, a Woodland Trust ancient tree expert, and Ian Pease, a National Trust ranger, who explain why the wildlife and cultural value of these trees makes them irreplaceable. Discover why ancient trees are so important, what makes a tree ancient, how people have lived and worked with them through the centuries and the urgent need to better protect them.

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Transcript

You are listening to Woodland Walks, a podcast for the Woodland Trust, presented by Adam Shaw. We protect and plant trees for people to enjoy, to fight climate change and to help wildlife thrive.

Adam: Well, today I am off to Hatfield Forest, which is the best-preserved medieval hunting forest in Europe, which has a very rich history stretching back, well, a very long time, some 2,000 years or so. Now, the forest itself is actually managed by the National Trust, but the Woodland Trust works very closely with them. In particular, the reason I'm going there is to look at and talk about ancient trees, their importance to people and landscape, and of course, how old you have to be to be ancient. Ian: My name is Ian Pease, and I’m one of the rangers here for the National Trust at Hatfield Forest. Adam: And so how long has your association been with this forest then? Ian: Well, it's getting on for 30 years. Adam: You're looking good on it. Ian: Thank you. Thank you. [Laughter] Adam: That’s very cool. Now look I have met you by this extraordinary, well, is it a tree or is it two trees? Inaudible just describe where we are standing. Ian: So, we are standing just to the left of the entrance road as you come into the forest and this is a magnificent hornbeam, er and although, like you say Adam, it looks like it's two trees it is actually one. Adam: How do you, how do you know? Ian: Well, it's done what's called compartmentalise. So, what happens when trees get to this age –and this tree is without a doubt probably around 700 years old – is the heartwood falls away and you're left... Adam: The heartwood’s in the middle? Ian: The heartwood, the heartwood in the centre falls away, and what you’re left with is the living part of the tree, which is the sapwood and what you can see there is that what trees do, trees are very good at adapting when they get older. And they are generally very good at adapting throughout their lives. So, what has happened here is this tree has stabilised itself by compartmentalising, so sealed off these two halves to stabilise itself and you can also see what we call aerial roots starting to come down from the canopy which gives the tree the rigidity and strength. Adam: So, where is that? I can’t see, let’s have a look, what do you mean? Ian: Yeah, so let’s have a closer look. Adam: I’ve never heard of aerial roots. Ian: You can see these structures... Adam: Yes, I see. Ian: ...these structures are what we call aerial roots. Adam: Yeah, they do look like... but they're not in the ground, they’re in the air. So where are they...? What function are they serving? Ian: Well, they’re basically supporting the tree and what's happened here, this is an old pollard, so originally, they’d have been what we call bowling in the top there, and the roots would have gone down into that sort of composted material that was captured in the bowling, and as that’s gradually fallen away that's what you're left with at the top there. Adam: So, these roots are supporting the tree as opposed to bringing it nutrients or anything? Ian: Well, they are supplying nutrients for it from this compost material... Adam: Oh, I see, which is still there. Ian: You can still see some of it there. What's happened obviously is as the trees aged, it's fallen through. Um and you can see the compartmentalisation on the edges there. A sort of almost callous effect. Adam: Well, amazing, well look I gotta get a photo of you by this which I will put on my Twitter account. Do you have a Twitter account? Ian: I haven't, but I’ve got Instagram and Facebook. Adam: I’m sure we’ll put it on all of those things so you can see what Ian is talking about. Fantastic, well look, this is just the beginning. And you said it was the ancient way, the ancient tree way? The road? Ian: Er no this isn’t the ancient way. This is, this is the vehicle accessway into the forest. But having said that Adam, there is stagecoaches who used to travel from the east heading to Bishop... sorry, heading down to London, would cut through Hatfield Forest to cut out Bishop Stortford. Adam: [laughter] Okay right. An ancient cut-through. There we are. Ian: That's it. Adam: There we are. Not quite up-to-date traffic news, [laughter] but if you're a time travelle...

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Transcript

You are listening to Woodland Walks, a podcast for the Woodland Trust, presented by Adam Shaw. We protect and plant trees for people to enjoy, to fight climate change and to help wildlife thrive.

Previous Episode

11. Tree ID top tips

Much as I love a woodland walk, my tree identification skills leave a lot to be desired, so I travelled to Londonthorpe Wood, Grantham for a lesson from the experts. We join tree ID guru Sally to learn how to recognise common trees from their leaves, catkins, bark and berries. From apple and ash to hawthorn and hazel, she also tells us more about the trees’ value for wildlife. I learned so much during this episode, and I hope you do too.

Don't forget to rate us and subscribe! Learn more about the Woodland Trust at woodlandtrust.org.uk

Transcript

You are listening to Woodland Walks, a podcast for the Woodland Trust, presented by Adam Shaw. We protect and plant trees for people to enjoy, to fight climate change and to help wildlife thrive. Adam: Do you know what? I have been wandering around woods for many years and I've been doing so rather ignorantly. I mean, I like it and everything, but I actually don't know the names, or the histories, or the importance of a lot of the trees I am passing. So, I’ve tried to correct that, and to do that I'm taking a little lesson. I’m going back to school, and I'm doing that with the assistance of Sally Bavin, who is the assistant conservation evidence officer at the Woodland Trust. And we’re going to Londonthorpe Wood, which is near Grantham, which is in fact near the headquarters of the Woodland Trust. And she's going to run me through some of the key things to look out for in trees. Now, of course, we're coming to the end of the easy season to identify trees because leaves are a big clue. Leaves are falling off the trees, as is their wont at this time of year. But nonetheless, there are still enough of them around for me to make a good guess and I thought it was high time I learn something and hopefully have a bit of fun and share that insight with you. So, off to Londonthorpe Wood, it is! And I'm gonna meet Sally Bavin from the Woodland Trust. So, Sally, hi! We’ve met under a tree. Look at... I can tell straight away it’s an apple tree because it has apples on it! [Laugh] Sally: Yes! Adam: But I come for some lessons – gone back to school. You know, how to identify trees when they don't have apples on them, so they are not as easily identifiable. So, is this what you do at the Trust? Go around identifying trees? Is this what you do normally? Sally: [Laugh] Not all the time, but a small part of my role is, erm I lead a tree ID course. So, it's just an afternoon, we run it about every six months. Adam: Yes, I have to say, I mean I was very keen to do this, well, because I’ve gone to lots of woodlands, I am very ignorant about identifying trees. And I was thinking, we’ve gotta rush before all the leaves fall off, because then it's a lot harder, but they're still, there are trees that have got lots of leaves. So, before we start the course. Why is it important to know what a tree is – what species of tree you're looking at? Sally: Yeah, well, I think it depends. It depends on who you are as to what your interest is in the trees. I think generally for just the public it's a nice thing to note, help you understand your surroundings of a lot better and it's a sort of the first step into connecting with nature, at a bit of a deeper level than just enjoying the greenery. Because you can then look for the specific things about different species that changed throughout the seasons, and you can be expecting the apples and looking out for them in summer when they're only just appearing. That sort of thing. So, it's good for helping people to connect with nature on a more personal level. Because the type of trees in a woodland can tell you a lot about the sort of story of the woodland. So, it could help indicate whether it’s ancient woodland. It could tell you about what sort of soil types underlying the sites are and that kind of thing. What ground flora, therefore, you’re likely to sort of expect and indicate the condition of the woodland in terms of ecological health. So, if you've got lots of non-native tree species there that could tell you that the woodland’s perhaps degraded and in need of restoration, that kind of thing. Adam: Okay, fantastic, and you’re going to take me on a little journey and we're going to identify some trees. Now, I have to say first of all, about me personally, and I think others as well might find this whole thing rather daunting because there are probably thousands of tree types, and you think how on earth am I going to get to know any trees? Really as I’d have to go back to university really. Is it as daunting as it sort of first sounds? Sally: No, definitely not. There's only a handful really of really common species. So, for example, maybe sort of ten of the most common would be oak, ash, hawthorn, birch, beech, Scots pine, rowan, hazel, blackthorn and willow. And then you get to know those and then you sort of gradually pepper some more interesting species in between. Ada...

Next Episode

13. Londonthorpe Wood, Lincolnshire

Londonthorpe Wood has been a haven for wildlife and people for 30 years. Colourful meadows and lush grassland open out amidst trees both old and new, where butterflies, grass snakes, wildflowers and woodpeckers all live. Now the Woodland Trust and National Trust are working together to make it even more appealing and accessible. Project manager Heather Cook tells us all about it, including what’s been achieved so far, how local people have been involved, prioritising nature, history and visitors’ wellbeing, and plans for the future.

We also hear from Edd, a volunteer wildlife monitor, on what surveying involves, which species he’s spotted and the excitement of seeing hundreds of butterflies in a single day.

Don't forget to rate us and subscribe! Learn more about the Woodland Trust at woodlandtrust.org.uk

Transcript

You are listening to Woodland Walks, a podcast for the Woodland Trust, presented by Adam Shaw. We protect and plant trees for people to enjoy, to fight climate change and to help wildlife thrive.

Adam: Well today I'm going off to Londonthorpe Wood. And the clue is in the name, it is a hop skip and a jump from London. In fact, well it's very close to Grantham. In fact, I think it's the closest woodland to the Woodland Trust headquarters in Grantham. Now the woodland is about 190 acres big. It's got wildflower meadows, broadleaf and mature woodland. It's got a whole bunch of wildlife and lush open grassland as well. So, it's a very mixed site indeed. And part of the purpose of this site is that the Woodland Trust has been working with the National Trust, supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund to link Londonthorpe Wood and a place called Bellmount, which is the eastern part of the Belton House estate, which is rather grand and very nice. And it really gives a lot more accessible green space on the edge of Grantham to help people experience nature right on their doorstep. And what I'm really looking forward to – look – the place is filled with an abundance of butterflies. There's grassland areas, you might even see a grass snake. There's the great spotted woodpecker and even, you might see, a kestrel. Interestingly, also cattle are also put to work on the site as part of a program of conservation grazing. Of course, you don't see all of that at this time of year, but you never know what I might find. There's ash, there's oak, there's horse chestnut, there's beech, there's rowan, there's... oh I don't know!... sycamore, there's a whole bunch of stuff and I'm going to meet one of the Woodland Trust staff who's responsible for really bringing the site together. Heather: So, my name is Heather Cook and I am the project manager on this, reconnecting Grantham to its historic landscape project. Adam: Right, so, Heather I have to say, I left London, it was pouring down, I’m wearing my warmest clothes and get to Grantham and the weather is lovely. So, I apologise if I'm going to be very sweaty during this walk [Laughter], I’ve come overly dressed, overly dressed. Anyway, we are in Grantham very near the Woodland Trust headquarters, so this must be the nearest woodland to the Woodland Trust. Heather: It is. Adam: Why is this so important? Heather: So, well, because Londonthorpe Wood, as you say, is closest to our head office, but it's also situated right next to a beautiful historic landscape at Belton House. And erm so, the project that we're working on here is really about reconnecting the landscape. So... Adam: So, what does reconnecting the landscape actually mean? Heather: So, Londonthorpe Wood, Londonthorpe the site was originally part of the original Brownlow estate. I mean it was sold off years ago, Woodland Trust planted it up as a woodland, but it was very separate then from the Belton Estate. Adam: Right. Heather: So, we are now working in partnership with the National Trust on this project and opening up access for the people of Grantham. So, they've now got access to the entire landscape to the east of Belton House and Londonthorpe Wood. Adam: And when you talk about reconnecting the landscape then, is that reconnecting pockets of ecology so that nature has a bigger place to thrive? Or is it about sort of connecting a lovely house with a lovely bit of greenery so people can wander around? Heather: It's a bit of both. So, it's mostly to do with the physically reconnecting the two sites, so it's not actually connecting to the Belton House park, it's a section of Belton House that sits to the east of their estate where the Bellmount Tower is. It's freely accessible, there's no paved area. People can come in. So, it's a physical connection – we've opened up kissing gates and put in a bridge and all of that between the two sites. But then also very much around improving biodiversity, opening access from a wildlife point of view as well. Adam: And how long has that project been going on for then? Heather:...