Accurately spotting ancient woodland can be difficult. Place names, history, earthworks and the location of the woodland can all be important but also very deceptive. But what about when you are out and about in woodland, what things can you look for which will give clues to the wood’s history?
Coppice stools: a dominant use of woodlands in history is coppice- whereby trees are cut near to the ground at regular intervals then allowed to regrow to produce a sustainable source of wood and other products. The ‘stump’ of the tree that grows back is known as the coppice stool and these can be very distinctive. Coppicing was practiced across whole woodlands so where there is one there is likely to be many others. Coppice stools can be spotted either by the huge circular and often hollow stumps of dead trees several feet across, these may look more like the stumps of several trees growing in a circle; or by trees with many large separate stems crowded on a single stump. In general terms the larger the stool the older it is which forms a link back to the age of the woodland.
Ancient trees: these are actually not very common in ancient woodlands as woods were used so intensively in the past. So if you see really big old trees with wide spreading branches surrounded by lots of younger trees growing up tall and straight you are probably seeing a more recent wood that has grown up around older trees in open areas such as pasture and parkland or hedgerows. The only common exception to this is old pollard trees on the boundaries of ancient woodland. In a time with few maps trees were often kept around or on the ‘corners’ of woodland to delineate the edge and thus ownership. But these trees still needed to have a useful function. Pollarding is process similar to coppicing but the trees are cut off between 6 and 15 feet above the ground to provide wood for animal fodder or fuel. The result is a tree with a single large fat trunk which abruptly stops and is topped off by a number similar sized branches growing in all directions. This process also lengthens the life of the tree which is important when it shows where your land ends and the neighbours begins.
Woodland plants: plants which do not cope well with change are often found in ancient woodlands simply because of the relatively stability of ancient woods compared to surrounding areas. A note of caution however, many ancient woodland plants get to new woods through chance, planting for amenity or even the dumping of garden waste containing very similar cultivated versions! So really you are looking for a whole suite of species occurring in a wood together. The type of plants which typify ancient woodlands vary across the country but I have listed a few to give you an idea
Species which indicate ancient woodland across the range of places they are found:
Wood melick
Wood anemone
Wild service tree (although not found in Scotland, very north of England
Small leaved lime tree
Herb paris
Early purple orchid
Widespread species which are only indicative of ancient woodland in certain areas:
Yellow archangel in the South and East
Lily of the valley in the Midlands and East
Broad leaved helleborine in England and Wales
Bluebell in the East and Lincolnshire
Ramsons (wild garlic) in the South West, East and North
Wood sorrel in the South and East
