Wednesday 18 February 2009

Ash to ashes

A walk in Kingsdown Wood revealed that the old Witches' Tree has fallen this winter. It was the subject of may tales among the local children (or, more probably, among their doting parents) but now it is no more. Ash to ashes, as they say.
It has been ailing for decades, not helped by fires lit against its trunk, but it will now rot gently into the loam, to provide life for new generations.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hey Steve, thanks for all your comments on naturenet. Just looked at your site - what wonderful photos - Kingsdown looks like the best place on earth!

Kingsdowner said...

WG (who contributes to one of my linked blogs - the Ranger, which is very entertaining)....
yes we live in a good place....chalk downland, cliffs, sea, migration route etc.
We moved from your part of Surrey, which is also lovely.

Anonymous said...

There's something very special about chalk downland - although there seems to be loads of it when you're in it, on a global scale it's very rare indeed. Every walk reveals something new and fascinating - you must find the same.

Mary said...

You aren't goind to tell us why it was called the Witch's tree??