Ancient pollard

Ridley wood is ancient woodland. For 500 years at least, trees have held tenure of the place, during the 1500's parts were managed woodland, pollarded trees with under-story grazing, this probably continued until 1698 when the practice was banned to create better quality timber for the navy.  This mighty Beech is representative of that latter period, a pollarded tree left to grow out, hence the multiple trunks, several of which have now been slighted age and the elements.  The old woodland of the forest holds a wonderfully deep sense of tenure on the land, histories swirl through the stands and to weave their paths is to walk through time.