Chestnut Coppice

This area was planted with sweet chestnut, hazel and ash so that they could be coppiced. This is done on a rotational basis and the resulting crop of timber is used for fencing and other purposes.

Coppicing is an ancient rural art which sadly is rapidly disappearing commercially. Among the useful products are fencing posts from sweet chestnut; hurdles, thatching spars (and water diving rods) from hazel; walking sticks and tool handles from ash; firewood and charcoal from hornbeam and baskets and screens from osiers.