Hatfield Forest

The lake in Hatfield Forest

Hatfield Forest is ancient and is most famous for its ancient trees. It is the best place to see incredibly convoluted hornbeams that are like living sculptures. There are ancient oaks too like the famous "Palm of Hand" oak (right) that is estimated to be 1,200 years old. There is a remarkable maple that is one of the largest in Britain.

Visitors and local people like to visit the Forest and walk among the trees. Some parts of the forest are very beautiful. However, the present Management has a policy of clear felling huge areas of trees and replacing them with "wood pasture" Wood pasture means yet more grass and cattle. Do we want natural woodland or a farm? Does the National Trust bother to ask us? Some local people are now saying that the only way to safeguard Hatfield Forest is to take it away from the National Trust. Perhaps they are right.

The Management has cleared thousands of trees this winter - native trees as well as conifers. Yet we are told that we should plant more trees to save the Planet. When visiting school children see this destruction, how do they react? Elsewhere they are told that it is wrong to destroy the rain forests, yet here they see "slash and burn" management on their doorstep.

This is an SSSI - a site of Special Scientific Interest. There are signs telling you to keep to the footpath to protect the rare plants that grow here. Yet they have allowed contractors to drive bulldozers across it. This was once the best place in the forest for birdsong and butterflies. What will they feed on now?

These cleared areas will be fenced off for five years. Sheep will be put in to control coarse grasses and thistle. Yet this practice has failed in other parts of the forest. The sheep eat the orchids and other wild flowers and sensibly leave the thistles alone.

Hatfield Forest is noted as a deer park, but visitors will see very few. The management has a vigorous policy of culling them. They are shot with high powered rifles and the meat sold as venison. The target fallow herd is about 150 and the target for muntjacs is zero. They want to exterminate all muntjac deer! No warnings are given to the public and the forest is not closed to the public when shooting takes place.

There are open and closed seasons for fallow deer, but the open season for muntjac is all year round. Some deer are not killed cleanly despite management assurances - they crawl away to die slowly in great pain as these photographs show.

IF YOU THINK THAT THIS WRONG - Telephone Hatfield Forest management at 01279 870678 or email the Head Warden: Henry.Bexley@nationaltrust.org.uk

More photographs of Hatfield Forest can be seen in the Gallery and Forum where you can add comments and post your own pictures. You can also see photographs of the Friends of Hatfield Forest here

The new National Trust Shop behind the Shell House is well worth a visit. It is open from 10 o'clock until 4-30 and sells a good range of books, gifts, bird feeders and food. Outside, there are garden plants for sale including herbs and similar good bee and butterfly plants so good for your garden.