Rating: 4 out of 5

This has been my episodic book over the past few months, reading just a few pages every few days. This style of reading suited it well. I do wonder, though, if I should have read it seasonally, so I could have matched what I was seeing first-hand with what the book showed me.

The photography is beautiful, and the book really celebrates the woodlands managed by the National Trust. As a dog owner and National Trust member, I spend most of my time in their parks and woods anyway, so it’s been lovely having this guide me through the different woodlands in their care.

One of the bits I highlighted was about what makes a tree ‘ancient’:
“Trees are described as ancient when they are unusually old for their species. Thus, a 200-year-old ash or birch may be ancient, but it takes 600 years for an oak to make the grade. For beech, a tree over 300 years old is regarded as ancient.“

Originally posted to my Goodreads account