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Hatfield Forest is a magical place and the
jewel in the Stort Valley's crown. Purists might argue that it is
not actually in the Stort Valley, but it is drained by the Shermore
Brook which flows into the Pincey Brook which flows into the Stort! Oliver
Rackham's book, "The Last Forest" is the complete guide to the Forest
and I can do no better by way of introduction than to quote him:
"Hatfield is of supreme interest in that all the
elements of a medieval Forest survive: deer, cattle, coppice woods, pollards,
scrub, timber trees, grassland and fen, plus a seventeenth-century lodge and
rabbit warren. As such it is almost certainly unique in England and
possibly the world. The Forest owes very little to the last
250 years...Hatfield is the only place where one can step back into the Middle
Ages to see, with only a small effort of the imagination, what a Forest looked
like in use."
| Birdwatchers now have a hide
by the lake, but it is possible to watch nesting terns, great
crested grebes, mallards, gadwall, teal and geese from almost
anywhere. During the winter, vast flocks of wildfowl can be seen
on the water. In spring and summer, it is
good to watch the Great Crested Grebes. First comes their
elaborate courtship dance and later, the chicks can be seen riding
on Mum's back. Dad is bringing fish for the youngsters in this picture.
Elsewhere in the forest there are tawny owls,
pied wagtails, jackdaws, treecreepers, nuthatches and all three British
woodpeckers. In winter, very many redwings can be seen feeding on
the open plains. |
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The coppiced woodland can be
very dark and hostile to wildlife, but the areas where
the trees have been allowed to grow naturally are stunningly
beautiful. The ditches alongside the open rides are full of
wildflowers and orchids can be seen in marshy places like the Old
Woman's Weaver and the marsh by lake. Rare wildflowers grow in the
old gravelpit and so do those most ancient of fern related plants - the
marsh, water and field horsetails that are older than the
dinosaurs! |
| 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 and the champion black walnut which is
the largest in all of Britain and Ireland! |
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The biggest threat to Hatfield Forest is that of
the proposed second runway at Stansted Airport. The
new flight path will be directly over the Forest and the noise and
pollution will be horrible. Click on this picture to show that
you object to this proposal:
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
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