Wistman’s Wood
Location
Wistman's Woodis one of only three remote high-altitude oakwoods onDartmoor,Devon,England. It lies at an altitude of 380–410 metres in the valley of theWest DartRiver nearTwo Bridges, at grid reference SX612774. about twenty minutes walk from from the road at Two Bridges is the mysterious and picturesque Wistman's Wood; three small groves of dwarf oaks growing through a 'clatter' of tumbled granite rocks. Stunted by the wind and thick with moss, clinging to a steep slope overlooking the West Dart, the trees have survived all nature's challenges, including a fire in 1886, and now form an important microhabitat for wildlife.
Information
Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) notified under Section 28 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 as amended. Dartmoor National Park Authority.
Area: 263.9 (ha.) 652.0 (ac.)
The site is described in A Nature Conservation Review, 1977, Cambridge University Press. It lies within both the Dartmoor National Park and the Devon Structure Plans Dartmoor Nature Conservation Zone. Part of the site is managed by agreement between the Duchy of Cornwall and the Nature Conservancy Council as a Forest Nature Reserve. It includes a number of Scheduled Ancient Monuments. The site has been extended. The revised boundary incorporates the Wistman’s Wood FNR and the former Wistman’s New Intake SSSI. The wood is a rare example of the ancient high-level woodlands of Dartmoor, and because of this it has been a site of special scientific interest since 1964. In addition, Dendles Wood and Wistman’s Wood are now included as extensions to the Dartmoor SAC. Seventeen woods have been notified as SSSIs and together they occupy 2,590 ha.
This National Nature Reserve is one of the most famous woodlands in Britain noted for its gnarled oak trees and luxuriant mosses and lichens. The trees are Pedunculate Oak (common in lowland Britain) rather than Sessile Oak which is more common in woodlands on Dartmoor. Mosses, liverworts and lichens are all classed as ‘lower plants’ as they do not produce flowers. Altogether 47 species of mosses and liverworts and 119 species of lichen have been recorded here. One of the rarest lichensBryoria smithiiis found only on four trees here and a few in Black-a-Tor Copse (also on Dartmoor) and nowhere else in Britain! The wood is situated on a valley side near to Two Bridges
History
Over the centuries the wood has changed considerably. In 1620 it was claimed that the trees were "no taller than a man may touch to top with his head." In 1912 a geological survey party tried to walk the wood but gave up due to the dense vegetation. In the early 1970s the trees were reported as being very distorted and on average 10 ft high, with occasional specimens over 25 ft.
Even the origins of the wood's name are shrouded in mystery, some saying it comes from the Celtic uisg maen coed (or 'stony wood by the river') and some that it derives from the Saxon word wealas, meaning 'foreigners' - 'Wealasman's Wood' would therefore be the wood of the Celts, who were regarded as 'foreign' by the later Saxon settlers. A third alternative is that the wood was a haunt of druids and so the name means 'wise man's wood'.
From Crossing's Dartmoor: "When the belief was held that the Druids once turned Dartmoor into one wide temple, Wistman's Wood was regarded as being a spot they particularly patronised... The valley, with its ruined hut dwellings, its oak groves and the Dart perhaps as its oracle, was presumably regarded as another Dodona (sanctuary). But the Druids have gone now and left only snakes and foxes to occupy the wood."
More recent legends tell of the Wild Hunt, said to be hellhounds chasing sinners or the unbaptised. In the Devonshire dialect, these are known as Yeth (Heath) or Wisht Hounds and are particularly associated with Wistman's Wood. So the name may derive from the dialect word 'wisht' meaning 'eerie' or 'uncanny'.
Description
Wistman’s Wood is a rare relict example of the ancient high-level woodlands of Dartmoor. It is situated on the lower west-facing slopes of the West Dart Valley at an altitude of 380--435 metres and is an outstanding example of native upland oak woodland developed on soils derived from the hard rocks of western Britain. The site contains extensive areas of clitter (granite blocks) and in addition to the woodland it includes acid grassland, heath and mire communities characteristic of upland Dartmoor.
Habitats
Main habitats: woodland. The oldest trees are about 400 years old, with the woodland area doubling in size in the last 100 years. Upland oakwood is, as its name implies, woodland above 250m that is dominated by oak, although such woodland may include stands of alder and ash. Most of the woodland on Dartmoor is upland oakwood. The main tree species found in the oakwoods are, of course, oaks: both the English oak and the sessile oak occur, together with their hybrids. Other common trees are birches, with rowan, hazel and holly in the understorey. Many woods have wild service trees and a few small-leaved lime. Beech is another frequent tree, but it is not thought to be native to Dartmoor, except perhaps at Dendles Wood. The ground flora is characterised by mosses, great woodrush, ferns, bilberry, or on drier slopes, by bracken and bramble. Where the soil is richer, plants likebluebell,wild daffodil, dog's mercury or ramsons may form extensive splashes of colour in the spring. Dunsford Wood and elsewhere in the Teign Valley, have exceptional and spectacular displays of wild daffodil (see Dartmoor Pocket Guide – Woodland Plants).
Dwarf shrub heath – upland
The change in grazing regime and selective Molinia cutting have greatly improved the sward structure and forb diversity of the unit. Mire and wet heath areas are now receiving appropriate levels of grazing where they were previously under-grazed (in recent years). Grazed at appropriate levels to sustain relatively short acid grassland sward with numerous tormentil, heath bedstraw, heath milkwort and scattered dwarf shrubs. There is a mid-western band (running north-south) of tall dwarf shrubs dominated by Ulex gallii with some bilberry and heaths. The north east section is wetter, with the sward containing higher percentage cover of sedges, Molinia and Nardus. Close to the river are several very small runnels/flushes containing some narthecium, sphagnum and drosera.
Broadleaved, mixed and yew woodland – upland
Upland oakwood habitat in very good condition with reasonable levels of standing and fallen deadwood, and aerial photography shows that the extent of the woodland area is (slowly) increeasing. A 2011 lichen survey by Coppins has confirmed the Favourable status of the lichen assemblage. They are composed of almost pure stands of pedunculate oak, to which species belong almost all the isolated oaks on the high moor up to 500m, as well as much of the valley oak woodland on the granite. The usual species of oak in the South West is the sessile one. This has led Simmons to argue that sessile oak has replaced pedunculate oak in the South West, but was unable to complete this replacement on the granite. In this sense the upland oak woods of Dartmoor can be considered relicts of Dartmoor's former forest cover.
Flora
The wood is dominated by Pedunculate Oak Quercus roburand the trees have a gnarled and twisted growth-form, many with their lower branches resting on the clitter which forms the woodland floor. Rowan Sobus aucuparia, Holly Ilex aquifoliumand Eared Willow Salix auritaalso occur. The ground flora is characterised by areas of Bilberry Vaccinium myrtillus, Creeping Soft Grass Holcus mollis, Great Woodrush Luzulasylvaticaand Bramble Rubus fruticosus. The fern flora within the wood is diverse; the Filmy Ferns Hymenophyllum tunbrigense, and H. wilsoniioccurring here. The epiphytic
flora is luxuriant, and lichens are well represented, including the rare Alectoria smithii. Of the numerous species of bryophyte with a western distribution, Antitricha curtipendulais of particular note. Bryophyte mats also occur amongst the clitter. The remainder of the site and surrounding valley slopes comprise characteristic unimproved acidic grassland incorporating areas of dry heather Calluna vulgarisand Bilberry. There are also areas of Western Gorse Ulex galliiand acidic marshy grassland
characterised by Purple Moor Grass Molinia caerulea. Of additional interest are several wet flushes giving rise to mire communities dominated by Soft Rush Juncus effusus and with Bog Mosses Sphagnum spp., Bog Asphodel Narthecium ossifragum, Round-leaved Sundew Drosera rotundifolia, Lesser Spearwort Ranunculus flammulaand Marsh St John’s Wort Hypericum elodes. Wistman’s Wood also possesses probably the best examples of the Parmelietumlaevigataecommunity in south-west Britain.
Linchens
Alectoria smithii
Bryoria smithii
Critically endangered in Britain andclassed as threatened on thepreliminary European Red List forlichens. A dark-brown ‘beard’ lichen of upland areas, where it grows on the acidic bark of old oak trees and on acidic mossy boulders in sheltered but relatively well-lit situations. Probably now extinct in North Wales and Scotland. Recorded from Wistman’s Wood and Black Tor Copse.
String-of-sausages lichen (Usnea articulata)
A popular species which is declining nationally. A good indicator of clean air. Relatively common on Dartmoor in wooded valleys and on isolated moorland trees, especially hawthorn.
Ferns
Killarney fern (Trichomanesspeciosum)
Vulnerable in Britain and protectedunder Schedule 8 of the Wildlife &Countryside Act. Only the
gametophyte stage has been found in small quantity at a number of sites across Dartmoor.
Fauna
With the exception of a small fenced area of the wood the whole valley is open to grazing by sheep, cattle and ponies.
Rare invertebrates include theblue ground beetle. This large and colourful species is now known from nine woods in the UK, five of which are on the edge of Dartmoor. Thedormousehas become extinct over half its former range in Britain, and is now widespread in only a few southern counties, of which Devon is one. Within the Dartmoor National Park it is still fairly common, being found in many oakwoods as well as in networks of thick, bushy hedges, and in the scrub in valley systems, often in association with Rhôs pasture. This tiny rodent is specially protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act, and listed in the Habitats and Species Directive.
The broad-leaved valley woodlands are also home to some of Dartmoor's finest-looking butterflies. The white admiral occurs in oak woods on the fringe, while further into the Moor woodland glades harbour strong-flying fritillaries, especially the pearl-bordered and silver-washed species. The speckled wood and ringlet, too, are common Dartmoor woodland butterflies. Down by the rivers in the wooded gorges, big wood ants can be encountered crossing paths with their trails. I have heard a forester suggest that the reason deer (mainly sika and roe) do not damage seedlings in the oak woods under Holne is that the ants act as a deterrent. Occasionally red deer are seen in the valley woods, or even rarely on the open moor, possibly having moved across from Exmoor, but more probably part of a small but increasing resident population.
Dartmoor is also host to a large number of rare and notable species, some of which have been protected at the international level under theHabitats Regulations 1994– known as European Protected Species (EPS). (external link, opens in new window) Those found on Dartmoor arebats,dormiceandotters. The act prohibits to kill, injure, capture or disturb a European Protected Species, or to damage or destroy their place of shelter without prior consultation withNatural England. (external link, opens in new window). A EPS license might need to be obtained. The Dartmoor National Park Authority must give due weight to the presence of a European Protected Species on a development site to reflect the requirements of the Directive, in reaching planning decisions. Permission can only be granted where there is.
Protected species present on Dartmoor includereptiles,nesting birdsandbadgers. Reptiles and nesting birds are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, as amended by theCountryside and Rights of Way Act 2000. (external link, opens in new window) It is illegal to harm or kill reptiles, or to damage or destroy an occupied birds nest. Also, it is illegal to disturb a nesting site of a bird species listed on Schedule 1 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. Badgers are protected under theProtection of Badgers Act 1992(external link, opens in new window) against injury and killing, and the damage or destruction of a sett.
Birds
The turbulent West Dart River courses southwards through the site and there is a representative breeding bird population, including Stonechat Saxicola torquota, Whinchat S. rubetraand Wheatear Oenanthe oenanthe. Woodland birds such as redstart and spotted flycatcher can be seen in the wood in spring and summer, along with wheatear, stonechat and whinchat in open areas. Winter brings merlins, meadow pipits and skylarks. Short-eared owls and hen harrier can be seen on the darkest winter days. Buzzards are common nesters in any kind of broadleaved valley woodland, though they are most often seen wheeling high over open country, scanning the ground for small rodents. Kestrels likewise, often woodland nesters, are usually seen riding the wind on open slopes, every muscle in action to keep them motionless.
Current status
Surrounded by the granite tors and moorland of Dartmoor National Park, Wistman’s Wood is now a National Nature Reserve (NNR) managed by Natural England. It appears that some epiphytic lichens and mosses have declined in the high altitude woods since the 1960s.The decline of Bryoria smithii and B. fuscescens at Black Tor Copse and apparent recent extinction at Wistman’s Wood may be due to changes in the structure of these woods from historic times.This action plan addresses the conservation issues and management requirements of mosses, lichens, ferns and fungi on Dartmoor. There are cross-references to this plan in the Action Plans for Moorland,
Woodland, Boundaries, Rocks and Freshwater. Amongst the numerous rare moss, lichen and fern species recorded on Dartmoor, seven are included in the UK Biodiversity Action Plan: the lichens Bryoria smithii (protected under Schedule 8 of the Wildlife andCountryside Act). Monitoring systems have been set up by Natural England at Wistman’s Wood (for mosses & lichens)
Cultivation
Woodland management can drastically affect lower plants by changing the micro-climate as well as
destroying host trees. Dartmoor is particularly important for oceanic species which require high humidity.
Felling in stream valleys needs to take this into account and should be preceded by survey work in
potentially rich areas.
Management
It was during the medieval period that oak began to be valued and managed both for timber and as a coppice tree to produce bark for tanning - green oak being one of the two items expressly forbidden the commoners of the Forest, who otherwise enjoyed extensive rights. But oak will not regenerate well under its own canopy, and is therefore vulnerable to invasion and replacement by other species. The ecologist Sue Goodfellow has found evidence that suggests small-leaved lime may have been deliberately managed out of oak woodland in the valleys, and the same may be true for beech which regenerates well in shade, thus posing a threat to the more valued oak. Today, beech has to be carefully controlled to ensure that the threat does not materialise, but this should not necessarily be seen as a simple case of a native species under attack from an exotic invader.
Management of land for farming and forestry has had, and continues to have, a critical impact on Dartmoor’s wildlife. For example, of the 17 species identified as priorities for conservation action in the Dartmoor BAP, over three-quarters are dependent on grazing by farm animals to maintain their habitat.And an exceptionally high number of rare mosses and lichens are found in Dartmoor’s ancient woodland which was formerly managed for charcoal and firewood.
Legend
People say that Wistman’s Wood was planted by the druids (its name is said to derive from the words ‘wise man’, another name for a druid), and as Simon said to me that morning: “Surely there must be an element of truth in these embellished stories?” Maybe, but I wouldn’t like to think that there is any truth in the legend that hounds live in trees and come out at night, seeking the souls of those who dare to enter their domain.
Projects
Dissertation projects
-Cultural and scientific changes -draw together cultural and scientific data in attempt to obtain a definitive view of the age and origins of three high altitude woodlands: Wistman’s Wood, Black-a-tor Copse NNR and Piles Copse.