The remains of that venerable ancient Oak tree 'The Naked Man' have finally fallen. Some say it was vandalism, but I don't see it. It looks like a combination of age, weather and pony activity to me. I think the Naked man stump fell in bad weather with age, taking its rotten frame with it, and the outer fence, also rotten, was pushed over by ponies resting against it. Or some such. The fences have been visibly rotten and feeling weak and loose for some years now. Although a popular site and one associated with ritual activity for many years and continuing today (wiccans, pagans and alike), the sites origins are quiet macabre. The Naked Man or as it was previously know 'The Wilverley Oak' stood on what was a prominent road crossing the forest and was once a gibbet tree where smugglers (common in the forest) and highway men were hung. This origin is probably the origin of the naked man name, weathered bodies left hanging. There's been a companion tree growing on the site for some years, and people are talking about a stone or something as a record. Something would be nice.
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