Great oaks

I had to wait to back-blip today as it was the one day when I left the Mill in a rush and forgot my camera! One of the others kindly let me take a few pictures on his camera so I had to wait until he put them on Flickr for me.

Our destination today was Staverton Forest, east of Woodbridge, a private forest of ancient oaks thought to be around 500 years old. These oaks had been pollarded for centuries to produce usable timber for building etc, but pollarding stopped around 1820 and they have since been left to grow on. My Blip today is of one of them, though it doesn't do the forest justice at all!

In 1986 the site was described as 'a famous and awesome place of Tolkienesque wonder and beauty'. Today, it is a Special Area for Conservation (SAC) and a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). Part of the site has holly trees reputed to be the largest in the UK - they are incredible. Some of the birch there are enormous! Quite a humbling experience and I found it hard to come to terms with the management going back all those years. It may have been a deer park in the Middle Ages and there is a fenced-off area for these deer now.

Have a look at this site.