Around a quarter of Exmoor's national park is moorland but the entire area was once covered in huge trees. It was cleared for
agriculture thousands of years ago, then generations later even more
trees were cut down for timber.Exmoor is home to large sections of ancient
woodland.
Ancient woodland
To be classified as "ancient" the area must
not have been wooded for the past 400 years. Ten thousand years ago the
entire area of Exmoor would have been covered by trees before humans
stripped the land for farming. It has taken around 5,000 years for Britain
to clear nearly all of its woods, and now only 1.5% of the land is covered
by ancient woodlands. Coppicing, where tree trunks are cut back to force
new growth, used to be common practice here.
Cutting back the trees resulted in many sunny glades,
which created the perfect habit for the insect nicknamed "woodman's
follower". After
the woodmen coppiced an area, the "woodman's follower" would
move in and colonise the area.
Once coppicing decreased, so did the habitat for the insect and numbers
rapidly declined.
Ancient Tree
Ancient woodland is classed as at least 400 years old and is an exceptionally valuable habitat, playing host to some very specialised and rare wildlife. These woodlands are also like living museums, exhibiting many cultural and spiritual relics. Much of Exmoor ancient woodlands are especially important as they are western oak woodland, an internationally rare habitat growing in the warm wet climate of the region. Despite the value of this woodland, over the last 100 years it has been depleted and fragmented by development and agriculture. Even today ancient woodland is threatened by factors such as invasion of species such as rhododendron, lack of management and climate change.
Why not take a walk through some of these outdoor cathedrals yourself? Try Tarr Steps Wood, owned by Exmoor National Park Authority, which is a National Nature Reserve and Horner Wood owned by the National Trust, both have attractive woodland walks A woodland walk with a special church at the end can be enjoyed taking the path from Porlock Weir to Culbone Church. |
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