The book does not hide from being a history, going back to the Ice Age, but I'm drawn to the sections on the now and the future of forests. Forests are both being planted and are under threat. WW1 forests are now tourist attractions, but that raises questions about their productivity and which function is best for leisure, wildlife and cash generation.
And leisure in Government and NGO woods is not straightforward. At Whinlatter in Cumbria tree disease killed larch that was used for Go Ape ropewalks. In recent years, a National Trust TV advert showed people, possibly volunteers, sweeping leaves from under the trees into wheelbarrows. The lesson is forests are probably best left alone, but in the UK, that's not likely.
The book tells a familiar tale of initiatives to increase the UK's 13% forestation - the book is UK-focussed unlike many now which require an international outlook. Conifer plantations are predictably shamed, while mixed native woodland and regeneration is advocated.
Forests have been destroyed, but relics remain, in Seahenge, submerged 6,000 years ago, fossilised trees and pollen records. Stone and iron ages are easier to find in history than wood but biologist and Britain’s first senior officer for Areas of Outstanding Natural Mullard makes a convincing case using archaeological evidence and historical records to unearth a wealth of astonishing discoveries; increasing our awareness of past losses and future opportunities.
