Sunday 16th October Malvern Group veteran tree walk around Hanley Castle

This very instructive outdoor meeting was lead by Simon Roberts and was a follow-on from his very successful walk last year, covering similar ground but taking in some more veteran trees. The walk started and finished in the car park at Hanley Castle High School, after which most people headed to the Three Kings pub for (liquid) refreshments. After the walk, Simon sent the following information to assist with further research and recording of veteran trees.

Thanks to everyone for attending the ancient tree walk. These trees are under threat from the modern pressures on our landscape and they need our help.

Ancient trees are precious. There is little else on Earth that plays host to such a rich community of life within a single living organism. (Sir David Attenborough).

Ancient trees are as much a part of our heritage as stately homes, cathedrals and works of art. However they do not enjoy the same protection. They also support life that can live nowhere else, including many rare and threatened species.

Knowing the locations of our ancient trees is the first line of their defence, so I strongly encourage everyone to try to make the time to record the ancient trees on your doorstep. The minimum information is simply the grid reference, but knowing the species and girth helps to prioritise their preservation. Particular areas containing wonderful unrecorded trees are in Malvern Wells and the Upton-Welland area - west of Stanks Lane should be a national nature reserve! But who knows what forgotten treasures are waiting in our hedgerows and parish boundaries? The Worcestershire Biological Records Centre (WBRC) is collecting ancient tree records, and these are automatically fed into the national Woodland Trust database. The Worcestershire County Council contact the WBRC to identify ancient trees with regard to planning and development, so our records are important and useful. The links below provide a wealth of information about ancient trees.

Worcestershire Biological Records Centre ancient tree project: http://www.wbrc.org.uk/atp

Maps of the trees we visited can be found at the following link (but better maps are on the ancient tree hunt site given below): http://www.wbrc.org.uk/atp/atp4SW.htm

The ancient tree hunt is in partnership with the Woodland Trust:

http://www.ancient-tree-hunt.org.uk

Maps of the trees we visited can be found at

http://www.ancient-tree-hunt.org.uk/discoveries/interactivemap

For example, the last mighty oak we saw is recorded at

http://www.ancient-tree-hunt.org.uk/recording/tree.htm?tree=4073EA4A-4339-49EE-831D-4349BD2674CD

The ancient tree forum has information on tree ecology and heritage:

http://www.woodland-trust.org.uk/ancient-tree-forum

To find a wood near you with information about access permission, see http://visitwoods.org.uk

Malvern community forest is aiming to maintain local woodland for educational, health and environmental benefit - hats off to them – they are caring for our future ancient trees which is vital for their dependent biological communities! Unfortunately the website is a little out of date but the organisation is going strong: http://malverncommunityforest.org.uk

If you require further information about ancient tree recording you're welcome to email Simon Roberts at