The trees that grow in Clowes Wood in a sense tell the
story of woodlands in Britain. The small-leaved lime is a very uncommon
tree in Kent, and here grows only as a few very old coppice stools and new
saplings. However, this tree was once one of the commonest in southern
Britain. Before large scale clearances by Neolithic people, most of
Britain was shrouded in a primeval forest which we
now call the 'wildwood'. Analysis of fossilised pollen grains has shown
that the small-leaved lime was one of a few dominant trees in the wildwood
of southern England.
The coppice woodland here represents a much later
chapter - that of traditional woodland management that reached its peak in
the Middle Ages. The final episode - modern commercial forestry - now
dominates the wood in the form of plantations of fast-growing, non-native
conifers. Despite this there is still room for a lot of wildlife here,
including a wide variety of birds and woodland
plants.
More information: Forest Enterprise 01580 211044 or contact
KSCP
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