As any visitor to Hob Hey will know, the wood contains some very large trees. Some of these trees are very old, too. As trees age, they become even more valuable for wildlife. An ancient oak, for example, may be home to thousands of creatures. Old trees are irreplaceable in our lifetime; by definition, a 200 year old oak tree will take 200 years to replace.
To understand where our ancient trees live, the Woodland Trust set up the Ancient Tree Inventory. This is an attempt to map Britain’s ancient, veteran and notable trees. Hopefully, knowing where they are, they can be looked after better and given more protection.
When I checked the inventory, I was surprised to see that, not only were none of Hob Hey’s trees registered, there were no trees in Frodsham on the inventory! The nearest was the old silver birch in Snidley Moor (the one with the book to write messages in).
Last year, taking my life in my hands (I nearly fell down the bank into the stream!), I decided to measure the girth of four of the biggest trees in Hob Hey. From the girth, the age can be estimated and this information used by a Woodland Trust verifier to designate the tree if appropriate.
I’ve just heard that the four trees I measured have been added to the Ancient Tree Inventory!
The old ash tree by the north bridge, known locally as ‘the fairy tree’ (which recently received a tiny front door labelled ‘Fairy’!) has been designated as a ‘veteran tree’. The ‘veteran’ designation indicates that this is a very mature tree that is not quite into its final years. This tree is probably about 200 years old and is partially hollow, with nooks and crannies home to many species (including fairies. Apparently).
The largest tree in the wood is an oak over 200 years old in the south part of the wood next to the path. This tree hosted a nuthatch nest this year and woodpecker and nuthatches last. This has also been designated as a ‘veteran tree’.
Two other trees in the wood are listed as ‘notable trees’, the weirdly gnarled ash by the picnic table and the huge horse chestnut by the main bridge. Notable trees, not quite as large or old as veteran trees are mature specimens, again great for wildlife, that will be the veteran trees of the future.
So, Frodsham is now ‘on the map’ regarding Hob Hey’s ancient trees. Let’s hope they survive and thrive to become ancient trees hundreds of years in the future.
You can see ‘our’ trees on the website link below:
More on the Ancient Tree Inventory here:
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