The trees
English Oak
This tree is known to all due to its massive crown and great height. The English Oak can be recognised by both its acorns (which are its seeds) and by the wavy outline of its leaves. Prized for the quality and durability of its timber, the Oak has been used for everything from ship building to coffins. One of our most common and useful trees, it also provides a staple food (the acorn) to many woodland birds and animals.
Sweet Chestnut
The Sweet Chestnut is aptly named as its seed is a delicious nut, several of which are found enclosed in a prickly shell. This nut was used to make polenta by the Romans, who introduced this species to Britain. Polenta was a ground up form of the fruit which, when baked, produced a nutritious biscuit. Widely coppiced, it is also notable for the way it attracts lightning strikes, the scars of which can clearly be seen. It is identified by its large saw toothed leaves which are often as long as 9" and by the spiralling bark on large trees.
Silver Birch
The white bark and slender twigs of this graceful tree are easily recognisable. The first tree to spread over Britain after the Ice Age, it is extremely hardy and is often regarded by foresters as a 'nurse' - providing shelter to slower growing, more valuable trees. In the centre of Park Wood a fine Birch Avenue can be seen which was planted in the 1930s.
Larch
Larches are remarkable in that they are both coniferous and deciduous trees. They bear cones but also shed their needles in the autumn, making them easy to tell apart from other conifers in the cold months. In summer they are attractive with featherlike, light green foliage.
Scots Pine
The Scots Pine first arrived in this country in about 10,000 BC. Immediately recognisable by its blue-green foliage and flaky orange upper bark, this tree is one of the world's major timbers, being used extensively in modern houses as joints and rafters.