Simon English
England Revisited

On an oak tree by a rise in Shedden Oak Copse wast of Winchester (5 miles).

On the same Oak Tree on which flag was placed in 1971. I had expected that I would have difficulty finding this particular tree knowing that the saplings planted around it would have grown up and it could be hidden however walking down the ride, still the same route through beech, sycamore and douglas fir (?) some now maybe 80 feet tall, there it was. The shape distinct after all these years. Initially my reaction was of seeing someone that I knew as a boy but now an anonymous and forgotten old lady in the street surrounded by big young families who have moved into her neighbourhood. But I am assured by one of the foresters who found my flag that this oak is well known and cared for by his team, in fact the footpath running past it has been closed to protect the surface roots from trampling.

This visit in 2010 coincided with finding the big branch that hangs over the ride in the old photographs, having just broken off the trunk and fallen to the ground in full leaf. As to whether it broke from the weight of the leaves or from the rot evident in the heart wood I am not enough of a dendrologist to tell. Is this the start of an oaks 300 years a dying.

In 1971 we stood against the trunk nearly obscured by tall grass and rosebay willow herb. Forty years later the rosebay is not evident but the trunk is now obscured by sycamore saplings.

The mature and managed forest is an interesting mix of conifer and deciduous. It is more than just a walking amenity. Various large play constructions have been built from the large trunks of felled thinnings to entertain the younger visitors.

Entering the forest from the south one passes some very big old beech trees, probably part of the old boundary of the forest as it once was. The knobbly roots are exposed by decades of trampling and the trunks thickly scarred by carving. The smooth grey bark of beech trees in public places is particularly vulnerable. This practice was common in the days before my youth when every boy carried a penknife. Now vandalism seems to take the form of paint sprayed on walls.

The open downland to the south was, in 1971, covered in hawthorn scrub possibly spreading with the removal of grazing animals. Now the thorn is being cut and burnt with the help of volunteers. The open downland turf is rich in wildflowers and a bit of a treat for amateur botanists.
Points 72, 69 & 70