Did you know there is a new trail in the Forest? – The Veteran Tree Trail. It begins at the High Beach car park adjoining the Viewpoint and next to Queen’s Green. The trail gives a very comprehensive description of the veteran trees you see along the way and was produced in collaboration with the Ancient Tree Forum and the City of London. The trail is available in various formats, which can be accessed here.
Epping Forest itself is home to 55,000 ancient trees, more than any other single site in the country. They are centuries old and some of Epping Forest’s beeches may have been growing there since Anglo-Saxon times representing some of the oldest living plants in Europe, irreplaceable and rare.
Given the size of the Forest and the number of trees involved, this self-guided trail focuses on a limited area of the Forest but one with all three main pollard species and with some of the largest beech trees. The trail will lead you around an area known as High Beach and Flagstaff Hill. High Beach takes its name from the geology or hydrology (the origin of the name is uncertain) rather than from its
trees, but nonetheless its beech population here contains some of the tallest and largest beech pollards in Europe with all the physical challenges they have posed for the Epping Forest arborist teams.
The trail illustrates some of the lessons learnt by the Epping Forest arborists and ecologists while trying to monitor and manage of the crowns of these ancient trees. The trail includes some failures as well as successes as a result. With an increasingly unpredictable climate, especially amounts of rainfall and the strength of storms to which these beeches are vulnerable, there remains much to consider and further interventions for which to prepare.
To find out more about the Veteran Tree Trail, please visit the website: Epping Forest | Ancient Tree Forum