Alder carr

 

Alder (Alnus glutinosa) carr is common along some stretches of the forest's streams; take a closer look and you'll often spot that many of these trees show evidence of past coppicing, a common forestry practice. Back in World War Two the forest's Alder was called to national service, and were mass harvested in order to be turned into high grade charcoal for the 40 million gas masks required to protect the nation...that's a lot of charcoal. Charcoal production is one of the oldest of the forest industries, an important activity it was practiced throughout history; a tradition which continues in the forest today, albeit on a vastly reduced scale today at Pondhead.