The writings of Max Robinson: Trees are the history books of nature

As part of my PLANT A TREE 'TIL SEVENTY THREE project supporting The Nat ional Trust's ambition to plany TWENTY MILLION trees by the year 2030 I am making weekly visits to different properties. This is my diary entry and visit for yesterday.

Ashridge 5^th January 2022:

Lazing on a sunny afternoon – IN JANUARY ! I am an Englishman, Englishmen always moan about the weather so I will start this chapter off with a moan. Be patient the moan will turn very quickly in a SMILE.

Driving from home to the Ashridge Forest National Trust estate in the Chiltern Hills the sun was low in the sky making driving difficult. Ashridge is a vast five thousand acre estate with some amazing trees. With the sun so low it was not going to be an easy walk and not easy to take photographs.

RUBBISH ! Look at this picture.

Pardon my camera’s modesty but is that a good picture or is it a good picture ?

Trees are the history book of nature, if only they could speak just what tales could they tell ?

Ashridge has tree after tree after hundreds of trees in its ancient woodland. One of these majestic historians is known as BOB’S OAK and is at least four hundred years old. 2012 minus four hundred years and our time machine goes back to 1612. Charles I was on the throne so Bob witnessed some very turbulent times during his sapling childhood.

Robert you are looking a bit geriatric for a tree but the woodland experts at Ashridge are giving you the finest possible care from which you can expect to be around for a few more years yet.

Let me introduce you to Bob.

If it were possible to add up all of the ages of all the trees on the Ashridge Estate surely that figure would go back to the very dawn of time.

I took four National Trust properties within which I set short stories, together with some poems I wrote within two of them and published everything into a paperback book PLANT A TREE ‘TIL SEVENTY THREE to support The National Trust’s tree planning ambition. I am currently drafting a story within a genre I have not written before. Very early stages, I am developing the plot and finding the characters to move through the story. Today walking around this magnificent woodland every tree called out to me saying this would be the perfect setting for the story.

You know what it will be.

I have a camera full of pictures to help me get started with the story but rest assured you beautiful trees at Ashridge I will be back. Back to invite you to tell me your stories from history which I can weave into my book.

See you again soon.

To help The National Trust check out PLANT A TREE 'TIL SEVENTY THREE