Wistman’s Wood and an attack of solastalgia

You’d think a self-confessed woodland nerd and tree hugger would have made it to Wistman’s Wood sooner, but five months after moving to Devon, yesterday we walked out to it for the first time. Wistman’s Wood is a remnant of an ancient forest that covered Dartmoor nine thousand years ago before much was cleared in …

Read more

Illustrations of woodland management from 1941

These are illustrations from the 1941 book ‘The Seasons and the Woodman’, a children’s book by D.H. Chapman which describes trees and the work that happens in woodlands through the seasons. The illustrations are by Charles Tunnicliffe. They show double-handed saws being used to fell trees and mill planks, standing timber being measured for sale, …

Read more

When cutting down trees benefits nature

As trees put on their autumn display of colour and fungi sprout up all over, it’s around time to start clearing dead vegetation, felling, coppicing and dead hedging. This time of year is one of the busiest in countryside management, and it’s also a fantastic time to witness the incredible regenerative capabilities of trees; cutting down trees …

Read more