I remember my finger hovering over the send button to contact Dan Watson from woodlands.co.uk after seeing two woodlands for sale. One had a majestic old tree, the other a beautiful stream running through it.   Dan contacted me to give me directions so I could initially view the woods alone. The directions were clear and despite a little ‘off roading’, my two spaniels and I found the woods and spent a couple of hours wandering around them.   It was January 2023 and despite the woodlands being very dormant, the quiet, still beauty of the woods opened my lungs and for the first time in a long time I felt I was breathing with ease. A calm swept over me. My orientating skills failed me and I never found the tree in the  photo. I arranged a second viewing with Dan a week later. This was beneficial as Dan was full of information on the trees, plants and wildlife, and a little history on the area. The tree was more stunning than the photo. My dilemma now was which wood to buy as together they would make 9 acres of stunning woodland.  Taking the plunge to buy both was both scary and exhilarating. I may finally get to preserve a little bit of this beautiful world we seem so driven to destroy. The woodlands website was brilliant and pointed me in the direction of  a local conveyancing solicitor.  The process was unbelievably swift and smooth. A couple of telephone conversations and relevant paperwork sent, signed and returned through the post  - five weeks later I owned what is now Lackenby Dell.   Dan phoned to congratulate me and said the key to the gates would be posted. Within days that ‘nugget of gold’ arrived and so my woodland adventures begin.

The terms veteran tree or ancient tree are often used. But what is a veteran? A veteran tree may be defined by a combination of factors: its age its size; its condition; its history; its position. Read more...

The olive tree [Olea europaea] , is an evergreen tree native to the mediterranean area.  Indeed, it is often cited as an ‘indicator plant’ for the area. It is of major agricultural importance throughout the mediterranean basin as it is the source of olive oil.  Generally, the outline of the tree is somewhat short and squat†, its height varies between 8 –15 M. The oblong/spear-shaped leaves are silvery green; the upper surface is green, whereas the lower surface is more silvery. The leaves measure between 4–10 cm in length and are between 1–3 cm in width. Olive trees can be very long lived and, as the tree ages, the trunk frequently becomes gnarled and twisted.  The tree produces small, white, ‘feathery’ flowers on the previous year's growth. Read more...

Methane might be a clean fossil fuel when in a pipeline but it is second only to carbon dioxide in terms of contributing to global warming, when present in the atmosphere.  Over the last two centuries, the level of methane in the atmosphere has increased dramatically (and now stands at approximately 1800 parts per billion). Much of this increase has been linked to certain agricultural practices (farming of cattle and other ruminants, paddy fields) plus the emissions from decomposing landfill etc.  However, recent work in a number of forested and woodland areas (for example, The Amazon, Borneo, China, Hungary etc) has suggested that the release of methane by trees is significant, and given that methane is an extremely potent greenhouse gas - this has to be considered in relation to climate change.  The methane contribution from  trees has not really been considered when working out the global methane budget but it now seems that they make a contribution.   Read more...

With the changing nature of our climate, so extreme events have become more frequent.  The last fifteen or so years has seen significant episodes of flooding.  Flooding used to be a relatively unusual event in the U.K.   In consequence,  efforts are now being directed at finding ways of mitigating the effects of extreme rainfall. The risk of flooding is associated with changes in our climate (notably rainfall patterns) and the techniques of land management have changed with the mechanisation of agriculture,  the creation of simplified (larger) field systems, land drainage, increased stock densities etc.  The U.K. landscape / countryside has altered significantly over the last fifty years.   Read more...

How many trees are there in the world?  Four hundred billion was the figure often quoted; that is, until this month when a report in Nature has come up with a figure slightly in excess of three trillion.   This approximates to 420 trees for each person on the plant. How was this figures arrived at ?  Well, the team (an impressive array of scientists from Universities and research institutions all over the world) amassed data from national forest inventories, plus peer reviewed studies where forests and woodlands had been studied in detail; this information was then used to inform what was also being seen on satellite imagery. For the purposes of the study a tree was defined as "a plant with a woody stems larger than 10 cm at breast height".  Read more...

Camping in your own wood (or a friend's wood) is totally different than staying at a conventional campsite.  There is more freedom, more choice and more solitude - you can do lots of things that would not normally be allowed.  Recently, I was invited to a woodland to camp with some friends where we experienced free-range camping first-hand. For any camping expedition, it is important to locate a camping area - we found a grassy glade surrounded by beech trees.  Next, you need to find a good spot on which to pitch your tent - ground that initially seems flat is, by the end of the first night, clearly very 'slopy'!   Read more...

This is the ideal Christmas present for anyone who likes trees.  At only £15, 'God's Trees' is both a coffee table book and an authority on the subject of trees in the Bible.  You'll find out about the trees of all the 'Bible lands' including modern-day Israel, Syria, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq.  It's not just which trees were there but how they were used -  Cedar of Lebanon (Cedrus libani ) for beams in Solomon's temple, Acacia trees for shade in the Negev desert but most widespread were Olive trees (Olea europaea) which produced olive oil for lighting and cooking.  You can do a cover-to-cover read or just dip in for the pictures and captions enjoying the exotic photos, maps and the illustrations by Veronica Pinchen. Read more...