Woodlands Of England

Glade. New Forest. 1906

The literature of trees ranges from the recorded myths of antiquity to the learned treatise of timber research scientists in this, the electronic age. Some have always known the value of their forests, not merely as a material asset but also for the religious personification that seemed to be vested in the great flora. Indeed, all civilisations have cherished them in poetry and religious allegory. This legacy of the tree is still apparent even in the more sober writings of the latter-day arborists and conservationists, though it may now appeal to a minority audience. The most prosaic would agree that trees, apart from their functional and structural attributes, are natural works of art, possessing dimensions that no other living things display. As single specimens on open land, large spreading trees cchallenge the artist and excite the poet. The mathematically-minded find problems of purchase and strength to tease them, the apparent paradox of grace and strength often seeming at odds with the rules and formulae of the theory of structures, yet never in conflict. In their natural state, trees owe nothing to human-kind for their growth and development, being self-generating and self-supporting, only asking space for their fulfilment. Little wonder at their universal appeal.

Woodlands of England

(Ashley Hutchings/Dave Whetstone)

There's a song that they're singing, the Woodlands of England.
If you stand very still, you might hear on the breeze.
They sing a lament for the loss of their brethren,
And the words they are singing are these:

In the springtime, we'll bring you the fragrance of blossoms;
In the summer, present you with fruits of all kind.
In the autumn, we'll shower you with gold and with amber.
In the winter, our kindling you'll find.

Some of us are old-timers. We've known many voices,
Heard Rosalind's laughter, Giles Winterbourne's call,
Heard the woodpecker beat a tattoo as the day breaks.
Now he beats the retreat for us all.

There's a song that they're singing, the Woodlands of England.
If you stand very still you might hear on the breeze.
They sing a lament for the loss of their sisters,
And the words they are singing are these:

And soon there'll be nowhere to whisper your secrets,
Nowhere to hide all your anger and pain,
Nowhere for crying and nowhere for dying,
Nowhere for silence to reign.

There's a song that they're singing, the Woodlands of England.
If you stand very still you might hear on the breeze.
But in the sound air gets fainter and fainter.
It is vanishing now with the trees.

The Forest of Arden

Shakespeare knew

this forest well

The National Forest

a forest in the making: a place of

200 square miles spanning three

counties in the English Midlands.

you can witness and enjoy its

physical creation and be involved in

its development as part of

the nation's future heritage.

The Royal Forest of Dean

an opportunity to see this part

of the English countryside at

its best. The Royal Forest of Dean

was designated as a

National Forest Park in 1938,

the first in England.

The Trees That Made Britain

Tony Kirkham and Jon Hammerton,

two of TV's best known tree lovers,

return to the small screen in a

nationwide search for the trees that

made Britain. Fridays on BBC Two

at 7.30pm from 15 September

.

related internet links

As You Like It

Scene IV

by William Shakespeare

in the Forest of Arden

In The Forest of Arden

a novel by

Hamilton Wright Mabie

1846-1916

published in 1891

.

photograph credits

the photograph of Moseley Bog is

to be found in the Tolkien Trail

section of a truly amazing website,

Virtual Brum, everything you wanted

to know about Birmingham , UK,

and more

A Glade in the New Forest: 1906

Memorials of Hampshire

Edited by G. E. Jeans, M.A., F.S.A .

the image and others are to be found

on a really eclectic website

run by Liam Quin

Massive thanks Liam!

the photograph at the head of this table,

a general prospect of The New Forest

can be found on the NLP

(Neuro-Linguistics Programme)

website. Thanks people!