Pitmire Plantation

East Anglia is famous for its bat willows. Salix alba var. caerulea is a form of the white willow, which is planted as unrooted 'sets'. After 12-15 years, when they should reach a minimum girth of 1.2 metres (48 inches) at chest height, they are felled and cut into three-quarter metre (2ft 6in.) lengths (normally three per tree). From each of these lengths approximately ten 'clefts' are cut and it is these which, after grading, seasoning and waxing, become cricket bats.

As the trees are harvested, they will not be replaced allowing flower rich wet grassland to develop.