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This is as natural a woodland as you are likely to find
in Britain because all the woodland in this country is managed. Here though,
the woodland is allowed to regenerate and fall apart itself.
The big trees along the way are sycamores and it is believed
they are around 150 years old. However, different trees grow at different
rates and, if there is poor nutrition in the soil, it is difficult to
tell the age of a tree from its size. Of course you can tell a tree's
age when you cut it down - some beech trees planted a little further up
than the sycamores were recently felled and it was discovered they were
planted in the 1870s.
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| Trees of all ages can be found here |
The silver birch is an early coloniser as its small light
seeds are easily blown in from the surrounding environment. It is likely
this was initially a birch woodland and then oak seeds would have been
brought here by squirrels and jays. There are also a lot of rowan trees
in this part of the wood, easily identified by their very distinctive
leaves and red berries in late summer and early autumn.
The rowan is not a very strong tree and is of little
use for timber production but in past times it was considered to have
mystical properties. It was believed that cutting the rowan down would
bring bad luc .
Once noted for its red squirrels - the last sighting
at the Crags was in the 1980s - the woods now abound with grey squirrels.
The National Trust wardens believe the grey squirrel, which came here
from America driving out our native red squirrel, is not particularly
good to have around in new woodlands. They will strip the bark of trees
and in hazel and oak woodland will take seeds that are still green and
either eat them or bury them - if seeds are not left to ripen they will
not germinate.
Roe deer can also be spotted regularly in the woods.
...Continue along the path until you pass until you
pass a wishing well on the right.
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