...... Do you know Jesus Christ can set you free from sins and save you from hell today Jesus Christ is the only hope in this world no other gods will lead you to heaven There is no security or hope with out Jesus Christ in this world come and repent of all sins today Today is the day of salvation come to the loving savior Today repent and do not go to hell Come to Jesus Christ today Jesus Christ is only way to heaven Repent and follow him today seek his heart Jesus Christ can fill the emptiness he can fill the void Heaven and hell is real cone to the loving savior today Today is the day of salvation tomorrow might be to late come to the loving savior today Romans 6.23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. John 3:16-21 16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. 18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. 21 But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God. Mark 1.15 15 And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel. 2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. Hebrews 11:6 6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. Jesus
As regards the woodland cover in the UK. I have studied this formally, and have been reading and studying it for over 40 years. The best work to read is the History of the Countryside, by Oliver Rackham, who single-handedly created the field of Historical Archaeology, was a leading academic, and who overturned all the falsehoods written by historians, about woodlands in England, and Britain. One of his primary sources was the Domesday Book, which was essentially an inventory of all the land in England, for tax purposes. Most woodland in England, was felled during the Neolithic period from just over 6,000 years ago, to about 4,500 years ago. The Neolithic, as the start of farming in Britain. When Stonehenge, started being built around 5,000 years ago, much of the original wildwood, had already been felled. So Google is wrong. Take the peat, laid down by blanket bog (most peat is formed from Sphagnum moss). Peat is laid down at a rate of approximately 1mm per year, so it takes around a 1,000 years to lay down 1m of peat. Bearing in mind that most peat on British moorland has been eroded and oxidized, by burning heather for grouse shooting from the mid-19th Century, so much of it has gone. There are only 3 native conifers to the UK, Scots Pine, Yew and Juniper. Scots Pine had largely become extinct in England, by about 5,000 years ago. There are myths about our woodland being cut down, to build our navy, houses. Old forestry practice, did not involve clear felling. All broad-leaved trees, will regrow from the stump, if cut down, being replaced my multiple stems. Plantation was unknown before 1600, most of it started later. Woodland prior to that was managed by coppicing on rotation, where the trees grew back, and standards, full trees within it. All of it naturally regenerated. Therefore, in England and Wales, all woodland which has existed continuous, since 1600, is classed as Ancient Woodland, as it would have been originally derived from the old wildwood.
@@messnersminutes - Just be aware that, it comes in 2 versions. A coffee table version with photos and simplified text, and the original version. The text dense version is very readable.
Need to be wary of what is quoted as fact online, ( wikipedia etc). Need to go back to original sources. Thank you for your comprehensive comments and recommendations.
The far far more important dynamic to mention is that humans also removed large predator species like Wolves, Lynx and Bears. These animals kept grazing populations like deer down, but also moved them along, meaning that saplings could survive and woodland could be replenished. Without them deer and other smaller animal species could just sit in one area breeding and hoovering up the tasty saplings. Without chopping down a single tree, you could remove all the woodland in Great Britain, simply by allowing all saplings to be eaten. This could happen in just a few hundred years, as most trees would die within that time and there would be nothing to replace them. It's why all trees planted now need to be either fenced off, or have those silly protectors on them. The landscape you are in in the video would have been cleared by grazing animals, deer and sheep, without much of it being cut down and used by people.
@@dfrntlvltc5095 There are and i have planted thousands of them over the years , but keeping the deer at bay until they have grown a good height is a good idea.
I agree - would only add that the predators would also have replenished themselves from the continent until we were finally severed when Doggerland was inundated.
We should start a re-treeing project. Just plant hardwood trees all over, especially oak. We need to get some tree specialists involved, so they can figure out the best delivery method. I don't know, maybe like a little cotton pouch with an oak sapling in it. You dig a small hole, put the pouch in, and hope it grows. You have 15k subscribers. If just 10% of us decide to plant 2 or 3 saplings on each of our days out, that would be thousands of trees every single year.
My sister has a small oak growing from an acorn from the major oak in Sherwood Forest. I’ll get her on the case. I agree we need more hardwood big trees like oak and ash.
I'm not sure you'd even need to do that much 'tree planting' to be honest, maybe a few critical starter trees but most successful hardwood species are favoured when the inaccessible scrub and weed growth gets to a certain height, supporting species which bury acorns and with many less sheep or deer around. It may take an extra fifty years but the right environment for those species to benefit from natural protection is probably a mixture of brambles and birch. Trying to go from open moorland to hardwood can miss out a fairly important step 🙂
Speaking of trees. Here’s a tale, may be true, could be true. In the early/mid 20th century some of the roof timbers of an old school or college built in medieval times were in need of replacement. “Where”, the architect or some such person, pondered, “are we going to find the oak needed to do the job”. The college groundsman heard the discussion regarding trees and asked to be taken to a nearby woodland. On arrival, he showed the architect fellow a group of large oaks that were just right for the job. “How did you know about these?” Asked the architect. “Well” said the groundsman, “it’s in the building records book, when the college was built these oaks were planted because they knew one day in the future, the timbers in the roof might need replacing”. True or not, it does sound like things were done in the past..
I heard people were planting California redwood and sequoia trees in England and they were growing rather well. The foggy weather mimics the weather in the coastal NW of the U.S. redwoods grow so tall that they can’t rely just on capillary action to bring water up to the top of the tree, they need fog. Many parts of England would work well for this.
I all of a sudden feel very privileged because I'm from nottingham and we have a good amount of deciduous woodland and quite a lot of evergreen and mixed woodland 😊 i love walking my dog in these areas👍
Much of the old growth pine forests here in Wisconsin (and eastward to New England, prior) were cut down for the English navy's needs of tall, straight, one-piece masts that needed replacing every 10 years or so.
Just got back from touring France in the camper van. France has many many trees, forests, parks, sports grounds, campsites everywhere. We loved listened to all the owls at night.
I live in the Great Lakes region here in the US, and we're entering the time of year when the cloud cover can sometimes last for two weeks. You need a cuppa to give you a lift when the weather is so dusich. Good video!
The loss of predators like the lynx and wolf, which once preyed on deer, has left the UK with a serious overpopulation problem. Deer numbers are so high that periodic culls are necessary, yet these efforts barely make a difference. The deer devour young tree saplings, preventing forests from regenerating. Reintroducing the lynx or wolf would naturally control deer numbers, allowing saplings to grow into mature trees without being eaten. A similar issue exists with the invasive grey squirrel. These squirrels consume vast quantities of nuts and seeds, limiting forest regeneration. Restoring pine martens to areas with grey squirrels would provide a natural predator to control their numbers. This not only helps trees recover but also supports the survival of the native red squirrel, which is outcompeted by the grey.
It's impossible for humans to have been responsible for the vast disappearance of trees from the UK or England in the Bronze age. This is for one simple reason - there were hardly any people in Britain. One low estimate is 20,000 people and an extreme high estimate is 100,000 people. Secondly, they didn't have the tools to cut down the enormous trees that were growing at that time. Lastly, you don't need vast land areas to feed 20,000 people, who were in any case mostly hunter gatherers because there was a vast native animal population and the rivers and littoral coastline were full of fish and other seafood. Why on earth would people choose the hard grind of agriculture when other sources of food were so plentiful? The south of England was always far more densely populated than the north or southwest. Why then are there such remaining dense woodlands and forests in the south, but this isn't so where the population was much less dense? Much of the wood, mainly oak, to build the Royal Navy's ships in the 17th to 19th centuries were sourced in Britain and Ireland, but this was only oak, just one species of tree. Oak was also sourced in the Baltics and Scandinavia as well as Russia and the America's. Mahogany and teak are tropical woods and would have been sourced from India and Burma.
Southern England has a lot of trees! I have only been to the Peak District once, but as a Southerner I did find it Bleak. I think the reason most places up north don't have many trees is because partly through climate , but probably mostly through centuries of sheep and cattle grazing. Plus, tree felling for building and burning before coal started to be used. Lots of the Weald in southern England was cut down in the very early part of the industrial revolution, which I think really kicked off in the late medieval period, with the gunpowder and cannon making mills in the High Weald. Plus, other parts of the country too.
There's actually loads of trees compared to say, the 1950s. I have an old film of an area in northern England, circa 1954, that is desolate of trees, because they were cut down for firewood. You can't see one tree, only fields, houses and hills. Drive through it these days and you can't see any nearby features because of tree cover. Every view from every house is hidden by trees. The only respite is the winter when the leaves fall.
I have wondered for years why there is no effort to reforest parts of the UK. It is true that an oak planted today will not mature in our lifetime, but it would for our subsequent generations. As they say, the best time to plant a tree is last year. I live in eastern Tennessee in the USA. If I turn my back for two seconds, a tree sprouts in my yard! I have over 5 acres. Just under 2 is cleared for house and lawn with about 10 trees. The remainder is wild forest and completely covered with trees.
Don't forget the UK is comparatively tiny - a little smaller than Texas but with over double the population density. There is very little wilderness, and land ownership goes back many centuries - rural land is dominated by sheep and cattle grazing - land costs are high and very few people have spare acres like yourself. In Scotland, where there is more unpopulated land, feral deer suppress forest growth and forests were cleared centuries ago. There are efforts to cull deer and replant native woodland in some pockets of protected land, such as national parks - but the scale and context of a small crowded island is so different from the continent of the USA. I would like to see a lot more native forest restored in the UK - however, it has to be said, I do enjoy some of our patchwork landscape ,where you always have an unobstructed view from the top of a hill but can then descend into pleasant valleys with streams, small coppices of woodland and pretty villages - the video shows typical Northern moorland, which dominates the high ground, but there are more gentle landscapes with more scattered trees in places like the West country, Cotswolds and the Welsh borders, coasts and valleys. Our temperate climate is very conducive to tree growth and it's possible some of the Redwoods planted by the Victorians will eventually equal or surpass those in America. Our countryside is full of beautiful mature oak, beech and ash trees, and trees like Cedar of Lebanon and chestnut thrive and grow beautifully in our parks.
I have a copy of Meetings with Remarkable Trees by Thomas Packenham on my shelf. There may not be many trees but there are some truly breathtaking survivors in the British Isles. Its a great book
They are managed as grouse shooting moors. The owners don’t want trees and the sheep and burning/cutting take out all the saplings. I’ve seen hundreds of birch trees intentionally burned by the game keepers where they had spread from an adjacent enclosed forest.
There is an event some 7000 years ago mentioned in which the Sahara desert formed in 200 years from green and pleasant lands and the north of Europe became very wet. A number of forests disappeared due to falling over in the wet ground. One example is Rannock Forest in Scotland now under a peat layer, found when the railway and the new 'A82' were built. A further event which submerged Doggerland 6000 years ago was the Norway trench tsunami which cleared all trees across the coasts of East England, North and East Scotland, all Scottish islands, and north Europe. These where not man made events. Then came man. And there is the always changing weather/climate and Iceland volcanoes.
Equally interesting is the question about why we continue to have no trees in many areas rather than just how we lost them. The info on your video about grouse moors and grouse drinking stations is one clue, and the sheep in the background are another. That area around Stanage Edge couldn't stay treeless by itself, the fenced off plantation area of your walk is a good illustration of what would happen on lots of open moorland if it was either not burnt back (which happens regularly to heather on managed grouse moors) or chewed back (which happens by farmers sheep). If it was truly wild and nobody was 'looking after the land' by continuing to suppress natural grown for their own commercial interests, it would very soon revert to woodland. It only stays desolate and treeless because it is 'managed' to be like that.
I also don't think people realise, how much timber was used for pit props and Britain's industrial revolution was built on coal extraction. Before that, charcoal from burning wood was the main fuel. Today though, too much of our upland is being planted with commercial plantations of Sitka Spruce.
Hard woods are slow growing, resilient. Not just for ships . There's no investment in replanting the native species ( sure people are ) thinking far beyond and seeing the bigger picture. Pine is a tax dodge, with a quick return. Money talks. Wood is so varied in it's usage.
Conifers are actually very good at storing water and are a real asset in managing flood risk, pine needles don't drop off in winter ... when it rains and floods, decidous trees drop their leaves in autumn and are very bad at holding water. Sometimes you need to understand cause and effect, not just hot air on'tinternet.
The rapid construction and expansion of railways in the late 19th and early 20th Century (and the massive need for wooden sleepers to fit the rails onto) would also have cut heavily into woodlands throughout the country. Nowadays railways use concrete sleepers, but the devastation cut across England by HS2 has to be seen from the air to be believed. And we call that progress! Another major user of timber was the mining industry. In earlier times (pre-hydraulics) pit props were (IIRC) normally softwood, but even in more modern times they used hardwood blocks as a base and cap to the (hydraulic) props. We used to make them in 4x4”, 5x5”, and 6x6” and about 18” long (100, 125 and 150mm x ~ 500mm) in the saw mill on a local ‘estate’ out of salvaged or ‘thinned out’ hardwood trees when I had a Saturday job as a ‘Woodman’ there way back in 1970.
Beautiful scenery and I love those rain catches. Logging removes trees for sure, but goat and sheep herding can prevent woodland regenerating because they eat saplings. Trees can take several years to begin producing seeds, and tree seeds are typically not very durable. So it isn't very difficult to eradicate a tree species from an area. The hilly, rocky areas you show here aren't well suited to arable farming, but they are suitable for grazing
Fortunate to live in East Kentucky USA. We have three areas of old growth forest that have never been cut. Trees hundreds of years old several meters thick and very tall. The canopy is so thick o ly small vegetation grows under them. Lilly Cornett Woods is one only 15 miles from home. Vids on youtube and Google. Eastern KY University oversees the area. Interesting what was. Paul when did they start mining coal in your area. They had to have it to make the steel and for heat in the cities. The smaller towns and villages have blackened buildings from all the coal burn soot located along the TET thru your area.
A gross simplification here but... In the north of England, because we cut them all down to make charcoal for iron smelting. This then allowed sheep farming which was very profitable before cotton arrived and finished off the remaining trees. When the land was cleared it became the property of whoever cleared it, mainly the monasteries who controlled the iron smelting at the time. (You cannot make iron using coal without making coal into coke first, this process was discovered at the start of the industrial revolution.)
Much of the wood in the Peak District was consumed by mining operations, in particular the mining and smelting of lead and zinc. Wood was used extensively in those operations, in particular the smelting of the lead. Look at all of the bole hills in the peak, particularly the eastern side, where lead was processed and smelted , leaving vast tracks of pollution in the downwind direction, iron was also proceeds locally. A trip into one of the old underground workings, will often show where the wood has been used several hundred years ago to support mined material. The baulks of timber used are enormous.
Cracking little video Paul, with a history lesson thrown in too. Good to see you making a fresh brew while you were out. Yes, a Thermos is great, but you can't beat a cuppa made from scratch.
The reason native trees don't regenerate is mostly sheep (and deer). One sheep can demolish an entire grove of saplings for lunch. The only trees that survive are those on inaccessible cliffs. In other parts of europe with similar climate (northern spain) they mainly graze cattle which are much better for the upland environment. You simply can't have native trees and sheep, you can only have one.
Not quite as straight forward as that although partly true yes. There are parts of the UK that haven't had sheep at any numbers for a long time now and have little regeneration. Other parts have naturally regenerated in clusters. Deer are an issue where there is no sheep but up to a point. This is a very nuanced issue with lots of variability. Cattle can be better at low density but in reality the cattle that would be used would be from adjacent farms where they are already draining land, ploughing it up and planting single species grass and then the cattle need a lot of further feed which is part of the intensification problem and destruction of habitat ( large areas of northumberland, yorkshire and other places have seen marginal land around moorlands thoughtlessly dug up. No trees are even hedges. At least sheep at low density are usually hardy and while damaging to trees have overall less impact. Lot of nuanced issues.
I live near Eggesford forest in Devon that was the founding Forrest Commission plantation back in 1919 when the government finally decided to do something about it. As a result the area around here has many forsest plantations and walks. I also remember from my school days being taughtthat the etymology of the word "Field" is derived from the word "Feld" so there's an obvious link there.
Trees haven't been replanted because the land owners want to retain the land for Grouse shooting. The sheep might also to be the cause of no new tree growth. I think their are parts of Wales where sheep are being removed to encourage growth.
Nice video again Paul, thanks for all your hard work, I think you should do a video about PFAS, because I think a lot of us outdoor lot don’t know and people listen to you and respect your opinion, Thanks again
If its anything like Australia, I would say the Government probably had a lot to do with the trees disappearing, seeing England is/was in charge down here. To get a plot of land in Australia, back when it was first stolen, you had to "improve" your property, or risk losing your land. I don't know the details, whether you had to clear land or other improvements were valid. Seeing as a saw, axe, shovel, fire and a strong back was the cheapest way of "improving" the land, that's what they did.
You blame everything in your history on the English. Australians were all in with the British empire and thrived due to it. Remember British means Scot’s,Irish Welsh English and Isle of Man.
Conquest of the world needed a lot of ships and if you go to the Adriatic coast of Croatia the same situation because of the Romans cutting trees to build ships and fortifications.
I'm in the south and we have millions of trees within a few miles. If you're on moorland you won't many find trees. Kielder forest has about 150 million trees alone. It all depends where you go.
Interesting that you don't mention the sheep. Forest will grow back after you cut it, but it won't if you have sheep. In Finland 40 year old tree is ready for timber.
Why not replant reforest? All this baren landscape looks sad. In my country lot of forest were damaged by insects but now all those forests has been replanted and growing nicely.
I thought we cut a lot down to buld ships for the navy, a few for mining, some for railways, some for housing, in fact quite a few things, the problem was no one wanted replanting as they preferred to turning into agricultural land, and the odd rich man's garden
Also because we are an Island we were able to hunt down and remove the very last Wolves before the Europeans ; this allowed sheep and other grazing animals to keep the tree growth down and have a thriving wool industry .We could leave large flocks of sheep out overnight but the Continent had to bring them in overnight for protection
What sunshine is to Australia, rain is to England. Also, I have my Google Assistant set to the King's English (as well as Norwegian). I don't know how you manage to survive with Google Assistant in Trump's English! Norway has some of the same problem. If you go to Røros there was a copper mine there in use from the early 1600's. In order to mine back in the day they set up heavy bonfires that heated the rock and then, after it was properly heated, quickly cooled it off by throwing water on the rocks. This worked quiet well actually. So well that a lot of the forests around Røros was cut down. Today there is a very bright green and monotonous forest around Røros. It's not the proper old primeval forest, it's quiet a young forest. But the industrialisation did that. The same, I guess, was the case for the UK. Especially after the invention of the Newcomen.
I remember watching a documentary about the effect of volcanic activity in Iceland 3,500 years ago , namely Hekla 3 which erupted and covered much of Scotland, Ireland and upland Britain in a layer of ash which had the effect of altering the pH of the soil and caused a mass extinction of trees (Irish bog oak) and a mass exodus of people who fled south into England. This was the explanation of the massive deforestation of Britain alongside human activity, Also explains why there's so much pine in Scotland which is acid tolerant as opposed to broadleaf deciduous which is intolerant.
...... Do you know Jesus Christ can set you free from sins and save you from hell today Jesus Christ is the only hope in this world no other gods will lead you to heaven There is no security or hope with out Jesus Christ in this world come and repent of all sins today Today is the day of salvation come to the loving savior Today repent and do not go to hell Come to Jesus Christ today Jesus Christ is only way to heaven Repent and follow him today seek his heart Jesus Christ can fill the emptiness he can fill the void Heaven and hell is real cone to the loving savior today Today is the day of salvation tomorrow might be to late come to the loving savior today Romans 6.23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. John 3:16-21 16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. 18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. 21 But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God. Mark 1.15 15 And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel. 2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. Hebrews 11:6 6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. Jesus
Nice to see you again Paul nice bit of history of trees 🌳 looked abit foggy and wet can't beat a good cuppa when you are out better still nice cup of oxo remember that don't see that these days stay safe and stay healthy one life enjoy blessed be
It's very interesting. As part of a study in conservation, I did a lot of reviews into forest, woodland cover. Deforestation took place many years ago. Also as you point out Norfolk broads were man made.
The reason there’s no trees where you are is because the rich people like to shoot those birds that you can hear in the background. And those birds live almost exclusively on the heather you are walking around.
@@JohnSmith-gb5vgwell those who take up the “hobby” of shooting wildlife for “fun” without questioning the flooding from lack of trees. Who lay their fees and buy their guns for their “sport” and drive up to the moors to do their bloodthirsty “sport” .
..... Jesus Christ is the only hope in this world no other gods will lead you to heaven There is no security or hope with out Jesus Christ in this world come and repent of all sins today Today is the day of salvation come to the loving savior Today repent and do not go to hell Come to Jesus Christ today Jesus Christ is only way to heaven Repent and follow him today seek his heart Jesus Christ can fill the emptiness he can fill the void Heaven and hell is real cone to the loving savior today Today is the day of salvation tomorrow might be to late come to the loving savior today Holy Spirit Can give you peace guidance and purpose and the Lord will John 3:16-21 16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. 18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. 21 But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God. Mark 1.15 15 And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel. 2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. Hebrews 11:6 6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. Jesus
Interesting! Thanks Paul. We've lost so much oxygen. I couldn't help but notice how it (the all knowing AI) seemed to be sure of itself about 5000 years ago but 2000 years ago it's a best guess 😅 I'd love to see the rock bingo card, how many? It'd be great to nip back in time and see what it looked like there. I bet there are loads more interesting rocks under a bit of nature 👍🙃
A lot of our woodlands were planted. All the one's around my area in the north east was planted by two brothers in the 1700's, so they can be classed as ancient. It was treeless mining hills before that. But way way before this the forsets went right out to doggerland. A fossil of a giant deer antlers were found on the beach with fossilized tree stumps.
Paul, I think you missed a chance here. A good explanation on this interesting question would well fit to you and this channel. I'd be happy to listen to you on other, better prepared outdoor/nature topics. - That said, I know how much effort goes into maintaining a channel and obeying to the algorithms. Keep it up!
There were no forests in England before 1066. "Forest" was a legal concept introduced by the Normans and meant land where hunting was reserved for the king - it had nothing to do with trees. Some forests were heavily wooded, some had a few areas of woodland but most of those in the north and west were moorland.
I thought the moors were without trees because the elevation made jt too windy for tress to grow? Thats why hardy low dense bushy shrubs like gorse and heather like it up there?
In reality the UK is actually a post environmental collapse civilisation, we are actually not damaging the environment, we are starting to recognise what needs to be done. Though I like the moors, and Glens of the UK, its a very barren hash environment in most areas, with a tragic beauty.
Did you know about Admiral Cuthbert Collingwood who planted during Napoleonic Era whole forests of Oak for timber for the Navy. Obviously technology has changed since then.
Don’t believe the numbers reason. They are really peg numbers for fishing competitions from the time when Stanage Edge was on the edge of a great lake covering the White Peak.😂
The cause of the loss of British woodland is quite simple. Much of the loss of tropical forest (Amazon etc) has a similar mechanism viz clearing for agriculture and logging without any thought to replanting. In the late Middle-Ages trees were axed on a massive scale for ship building. My ancestors were foresters. Because a tree takes at least 30 years to mature (twice that for hardwoods like oak) the investment yields a return for the next generation. Re-planting requires very long future planning that requires guarantees that the land will remain in the same family ownership. Instability and wars will upset this. British landed gentry preferred the quick buck of rental returns so did not see the need to invest in plantings other than small coverts for fox-hunting and shooting. This is why the remaining woodlands only exist because they are publically owned such as Epping Forest, and the New Forest (though badly run and not at all commercial) and the Forestry Commission which has used public funds to invest in long term commercial woodlands.
I grew up literally in Sherwood Forest, I played endlessly there as a kid, building dens, putting up rope swings running around, riding my bmx, it was a brilliant and joyous place to grow up, despite living in a pit village which many wrongly assume was pretty harsh. I have an affinity with trees, I love the smell of forests, the smell of the earth there and the bracken, the noises just sound like home to me. I’ve been saying for years we need a national tree planting day, I’d more than happily bin the easter egg nonsense and have a day where we all give/plant trees. I love that saying - a wise man is a man that plants a tree knowing he’ll never sit under the shade of its branches - but whilst governments continue to let immigration spiral out of control and farmers are shafted being forced to sell off land to developers for house building or solar farms, all whilst our food security is at a worryingly low percentage, then the future for our natural environment looks very grim. I really feel sorry for future generations of Brits, our green and pleasant land will have been concreted over so someone can move from one place where there are enough houses, to a place were there aren’t enough - it’s very sad 😢
I grew up in Ollerton a couple of miles down the road. Were you in Edwinstowe? Spent many a happy time in Sherwood Forest, exploring, making dens and swings. I need to do more of that 😍
@@messnersminutes yes mate, lived on Ollerton Rd, went to Rufford Comp, joined the Army in 89 (16 yrs old) and only go back that way occasionally now to see family that still live in the village. I now live in Suffolk and I so miss a proper deciduous forest, lots of pine forests the other side of Bury St Edmunds but they aren't the same, they are pretty grim, underneath the canopy it's pretty dead - but they must be doing more good for the environment than even more houses or a field full of solar panels! Do ya know what nothing puts a bigger smile on my face than seeing kids playing in the woods, making dens running round and having fun. As far as I'm concerned everyone wins if we have more forest and trees, hell you can even grow them and build homes, but alas there just isn't the appetite generally to do something, seems we are doomed to get fatter, unhealthier and live on a baron soulless island with no nature and no trees
Ireland is similar. The majority of Ireland was old stand forest 600 +-years ago.Then the British Empire razed them to the ground for shipbuilding, fine furniture and construction. Today the amount the Island under forestation is in the low single figures. Only crap foreign softwood remains which is of no environmental value ,but is of significant harvest value for building.
The British empire did not help things in that regard but most of Irelands woodland was lost before the British invasions. Woodland cover was down to below 20%. A big part of that was they replaced the primary grazing animals (cows) with sheep which are much more destructive. Most of Irelands regeneration efforts have failed due to invasive Sika deer. Does not help that most people hold trees and nature in contempt and will cut down mature native trees at any opportunity to gain a little more land for grazing or an extra 20 minutes of sunlight during the day.
Ireland has made zero effort to improve wildlife and reforestation which is my understanding. As in the uk the farming industry lobbies are quite strong when it comes to govt
Forrests in the UK were only cut down by the tiny population of that era in gradually for agriculture peat and peat bogs were the created when climate beecame much wetter and colder submerging the tree roots. good example was Rannoch moor where excavation found masses of tree roots which proved it used to be a forrest
..... Do you know Jesus Christ can set you free from sins and save you from hell today Jesus Christ is the only hope in this world no other gods will lead you to heaven There is no security or hope with out Jesus Christ in this world come and repent of all sins today Today is the day of salvation come to the loving savior Today repent and do not go to hell Come to Jesus Christ today Jesus Christ is only way to heaven Repent and follow him today seek his heart Jesus Christ can fill the emptiness he can fill the void Heaven and hell is real cone to the loving savior today Today is the day of salvation tomorrow might be to late come to the loving savior today Romans 6.23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. John 3:16-21 16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. 18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. 21 But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God. Mark 1.15 15 And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel. 2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. Hebrews 11:6 6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. Jesus
We're lucky in England (at least the north west where I live) that all the forest clearance didn't leave us with the same midge problem that it resulted in in parts of Scotland.
Most of our national parks are grazed by farm animals, that's why. It's not difficult, it's being used as farm land. That's why where you're walking, there's dry stone walls to farm the animals.
.... Jesus Christ is the only hope in this world no other gods will lead you to heaven There is no security or hope with out Jesus Christ in this world come and repent of all sins today Today is the day of salvation come to the loving savior Today repent and do not go to hell Come to Jesus Christ today Jesus Christ is only way to heaven Repent and follow him today seek his heart Jesus Christ can fill the emptiness he can fill the void Heaven and hell is real cone to the loving savior today Today is the day of salvation tomorrow might be to late come to the loving savior today Holy Spirit Can give you peace guidance and purpose and the Lord will John 3:16-21 16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. 18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. 21 But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God. Mark 1.15 15 And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel. 2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. Hebrews 11:6 6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. Jesus
Be careful the reasons are more complicated. The Romans built their famous roads on un wooded ridges as the lowlands eg Mercia were vert heavily forested. A lot of our woodlands were cut down for agriculture, more recently for industrial use eg charcoal for iron production prio to the 17 century. It is also wrong to say that Scots pine has nearly died out in England. Look at forests such as Thetford. On the drier east of the country Scots pine is the dominet conifer. It is a pioner species and a light demanding species so colonises first but it is only the climax species on limited sites. Intestingly we do import vast quantities of timber, mainly coniferous as that us what we need for houses, paper, chipboard. Sitka spruce is the main timber producing species in the UK and produces over 12 m3 per ha per annum. Oak at best can only produce 6 m3 per ha p.a. Iak will also only grow on a very limited range of soils and at low levels. Modern Britain needs coniferous timber to survive. There is much mis information out there and forestry or corectly "silviculture" is not understood by the vast majority of people. This us in marked contrast with a lot of our European neighbours where forestry is better understood Regards Alan. F I C For, NDF
I have a tent up for grabs if anyone is interested? raffall.com/369695/enter-raffle-to-win-wild-country-panacea-1-tent-hosted-by-paul-messner
If you want an Oak forest start planting. Nobody is stopping you. That's how that one "miracle" forest grew up in France.
......
Do you know Jesus Christ can set you free from sins and save you from hell today
Jesus Christ is the only hope in this world no other gods will lead you to heaven
There is no security or hope with out Jesus Christ in this world come and repent of all sins today
Today is the day of salvation come to the loving savior Today repent and do not go to hell
Come to Jesus Christ today
Jesus Christ is only way to heaven
Repent and follow him today seek his heart Jesus Christ can fill the emptiness he can fill the void
Heaven and hell is real cone to the loving savior today
Today is the day of salvation tomorrow might be to late come to the loving savior today
Romans 6.23
For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
John 3:16-21
16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. 18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. 21 But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.
Mark 1.15
15 And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.
2 Peter 3:9
The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
Hebrews 11:6
6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
Jesus
Is it any good for sheep to feed on gross where you are walking around?
As regards the woodland cover in the UK. I have studied this formally, and have been reading and studying it for over 40 years. The best work to read is the History of the Countryside, by Oliver Rackham, who single-handedly created the field of Historical Archaeology, was a leading academic, and who overturned all the falsehoods written by historians, about woodlands in England, and Britain. One of his primary sources was the Domesday Book, which was essentially an inventory of all the land in England, for tax purposes. Most woodland in England, was felled during the Neolithic period from just over 6,000 years ago, to about 4,500 years ago. The Neolithic, as the start of farming in Britain. When Stonehenge, started being built around 5,000 years ago, much of the original wildwood, had already been felled. So Google is wrong. Take the peat, laid down by blanket bog (most peat is formed from Sphagnum moss). Peat is laid down at a rate of approximately 1mm per year, so it takes around a 1,000 years to lay down 1m of peat. Bearing in mind that most peat on British moorland has been eroded and oxidized, by burning heather for grouse shooting from the mid-19th Century, so much of it has gone. There are only 3 native conifers to the UK, Scots Pine, Yew and Juniper. Scots Pine had largely become extinct in England, by about 5,000 years ago.
There are myths about our woodland being cut down, to build our navy, houses. Old forestry practice, did not involve clear felling. All broad-leaved trees, will regrow from the stump, if cut down, being replaced my multiple stems. Plantation was unknown before 1600, most of it started later. Woodland prior to that was managed by coppicing on rotation, where the trees grew back, and standards, full trees within it. All of it naturally regenerated. Therefore, in England and Wales, all woodland which has existed continuous, since 1600, is classed as Ancient Woodland, as it would have been originally derived from the old wildwood.
This is great info thank you. I will try and track the book down and give it a read.
Thanks @stephenbarlow2493
@@messnersminutes - Just be aware that, it comes in 2 versions. A coffee table version with photos and simplified text, and the original version. The text dense version is very readable.
Need to be wary of what is quoted as fact online, ( wikipedia etc). Need to go back to original sources. Thank you for your comprehensive comments and recommendations.
Canadian wood was used to build many ships.
In one of Tony walks shows, he meets up with a guy in Scotland replanting a valley to its natural state.
The far far more important dynamic to mention is that humans also removed large predator species like Wolves, Lynx and Bears. These animals kept grazing populations like deer down, but also moved them along, meaning that saplings could survive and woodland could be replenished. Without them deer and other smaller animal species could just sit in one area breeding and hoovering up the tasty saplings. Without chopping down a single tree, you could remove all the woodland in Great Britain, simply by allowing all saplings to be eaten. This could happen in just a few hundred years, as most trees would die within that time and there would be nothing to replace them. It's why all trees planted now need to be either fenced off, or have those silly protectors on them. The landscape you are in in the video would have been cleared by grazing animals, deer and sheep, without much of it being cut down and used by people.
you are spot on.
Except theres loads of trees that survive deer without protectors@@davebloggs
@@dfrntlvltc5095 There are and i have planted thousands of them over the years , but keeping the deer at bay until they have grown a good height is a good idea.
I agree - would only add that the predators would also have replenished themselves from the continent until we were finally severed when Doggerland was inundated.
@@dfrntlvltc5095 But not seedlings.
It's the sheep. After the trees have been cut down, they eat the young sprouts.
We should start a re-treeing project. Just plant hardwood trees all over, especially oak. We need to get some tree specialists involved, so they can figure out the best delivery method. I don't know, maybe like a little cotton pouch with an oak sapling in it. You dig a small hole, put the pouch in, and hope it grows. You have 15k subscribers. If just 10% of us decide to plant 2 or 3 saplings on each of our days out, that would be thousands of trees every single year.
My sister has a small oak growing from an acorn from the major oak in Sherwood Forest. I’ll get her on the case. I agree we need more hardwood big trees like oak and ash.
I'm not sure you'd even need to do that much 'tree planting' to be honest, maybe a few critical starter trees but most successful hardwood species are favoured when the inaccessible scrub and weed growth gets to a certain height, supporting species which bury acorns and with many less sheep or deer around. It may take an extra fifty years but the right environment for those species to benefit from natural protection is probably a mixture of brambles and birch. Trying to go from open moorland to hardwood can miss out a fairly important step 🙂
Speaking of trees. Here’s a tale, may be true, could be true.
In the early/mid 20th century some of the roof timbers of an old school or college built in medieval times were in need of replacement. “Where”, the architect or some such person, pondered, “are we going to find the oak needed to do the job”. The college groundsman heard the discussion regarding trees and asked to be taken to a nearby woodland. On arrival, he showed the architect fellow a group of large oaks that were just right for the job. “How did you know about these?” Asked the architect. “Well” said the groundsman, “it’s in the building records book, when the college was built these oaks were planted because they knew one day in the future, the timbers in the roof might need replacing”. True or not, it does sound like things were done in the past..
A now deceased friend of mine, many years ago, told me the same story.
I'm in love with England, but have been there only once. That's why I enjoy watching your videos so much! Feels like a tiny vacation.
Come soon or there won't be much left to look at as we're being carpeted by housing estates to accommodate all the immigrants.
enjoy it while it lasts.... its becomeing islamo land now
I heard people were planting California redwood and sequoia trees in England and they were growing rather well. The foggy weather mimics the weather in the coastal NW of the U.S. redwoods grow so tall that they can’t rely just on capillary action to bring water up to the top of the tree, they need fog. Many parts of England would work well for this.
I all of a sudden feel very privileged because I'm from nottingham and we have a good amount of deciduous woodland and quite a lot of evergreen and mixed woodland 😊 i love walking my dog in these areas👍
Much of the old growth pine forests here in Wisconsin (and eastward to New England, prior) were cut down for the English navy's needs of tall, straight, one-piece masts that needed replacing every 10 years or so.
Just got back from touring France in the camper van. France has many many trees, forests, parks, sports grounds, campsites everywhere. We loved listened to all the owls at night.
I was amazed to find that the entire Norfolk Broads are man made due to digging for peat in the medieval period and later. Quite astonishing really.
Yes how foolish. If I was looking to dig up something combustible, the last place I would choose would be a pond.
I live in the Great Lakes region here in the US, and we're entering the time of year when the cloud cover can sometimes last for two weeks. You need a cuppa to give you a lift when the weather is so dusich. Good video!
Delightful, so normal, so Poignant, took me for a walk.
From America, cheers.
The loss of predators like the lynx and wolf, which once preyed on deer, has left the UK with a serious overpopulation problem. Deer numbers are so high that periodic culls are necessary, yet these efforts barely make a difference. The deer devour young tree saplings, preventing forests from regenerating. Reintroducing the lynx or wolf would naturally control deer numbers, allowing saplings to grow into mature trees without being eaten.
A similar issue exists with the invasive grey squirrel. These squirrels consume vast quantities of nuts and seeds, limiting forest regeneration. Restoring pine martens to areas with grey squirrels would provide a natural predator to control their numbers. This not only helps trees recover but also supports the survival of the native red squirrel, which is outcompeted by the grey.
Its easy to blame the deer and ignore millions of sheep
It's impossible for humans to have been responsible for the vast disappearance of trees from the UK or England in the Bronze age. This is for one simple reason - there were hardly any people in Britain. One low estimate is 20,000 people and an extreme high estimate is 100,000 people. Secondly, they didn't have the tools to cut down the enormous trees that were growing at that time. Lastly, you don't need vast land areas to feed 20,000 people, who were in any case mostly hunter gatherers because there was a vast native animal population and the rivers and littoral coastline were full of fish and other seafood. Why on earth would people choose the hard grind of agriculture when other sources of food were so plentiful? The south of England was always far more densely populated than the north or southwest. Why then are there such remaining dense woodlands and forests in the south, but this isn't so where the population was much less dense? Much of the wood, mainly oak, to build the Royal Navy's ships in the 17th to 19th centuries were sourced in Britain and Ireland, but this was only oak, just one species of tree. Oak was also sourced in the Baltics and Scandinavia as well as Russia and the America's. Mahogany and teak are tropical woods and would have been sourced from India and Burma.
They had fire.
Just sprinkle buddleia seeds while you are walking, they may be invasive but when they take hold nothing is going to stop them.
Southern England has a lot of trees! I have only been to the Peak District once, but as a Southerner I did find it Bleak. I think the reason most places up north don't have many trees is because partly through climate , but probably mostly through centuries of sheep and cattle grazing. Plus, tree felling for building and burning before coal started to be used. Lots of the Weald in southern England was cut down in the very early part of the industrial revolution, which I think really kicked off in the late medieval period, with the gunpowder and cannon making mills in the High Weald. Plus, other parts of the country too.
Keep the videos coming. You're my connection to the British countryside now I live in the States.
one of the best videos you've done in ages Paul. We need trees!
There's actually loads of trees compared to say, the 1950s. I have an old film of an area in northern England, circa 1954, that is desolate of trees, because they were cut down for firewood. You can't see one tree, only fields, houses and hills. Drive through it these days and you can't see any nearby features because of tree cover. Every view from every house is hidden by trees. The only respite is the winter when the leaves fall.
I have wondered for years why there is no effort to reforest parts of the UK. It is true that an oak planted today will not mature in our lifetime, but it would for our subsequent generations. As they say, the best time to plant a tree is last year. I live in eastern Tennessee in the USA. If I turn my back for two seconds, a tree sprouts in my yard! I have over 5 acres. Just under 2 is cleared for house and lawn with about 10 trees. The remainder is wild forest and completely covered with trees.
Humble brag 😂
Don't forget the UK is comparatively tiny - a little smaller than Texas but with over double the population density. There is very little wilderness, and land ownership goes back many centuries - rural land is dominated by sheep and cattle grazing - land costs are high and very few people have spare acres like yourself. In Scotland, where there is more unpopulated land, feral deer suppress forest growth and forests were cleared centuries ago. There are efforts to cull deer and replant native woodland in some pockets of protected land, such as national parks - but the scale and context of a small crowded island is so different from the continent of the USA. I would like to see a lot more native forest restored in the UK - however, it has to be said, I do enjoy some of our patchwork landscape ,where you always have an unobstructed view from the top of a hill but can then descend into pleasant valleys with streams, small coppices of woodland and pretty villages - the video shows typical Northern moorland, which dominates the high ground, but there are more gentle landscapes with more scattered trees in places like the West country, Cotswolds and the Welsh borders, coasts and valleys. Our temperate climate is very conducive to tree growth and it's possible some of the Redwoods planted by the Victorians will eventually equal or surpass those in America. Our countryside is full of beautiful mature oak, beech and ash trees, and trees like Cedar of Lebanon and chestnut thrive and grow beautifully in our parks.
I have a copy of Meetings with Remarkable Trees by Thomas Packenham on my shelf. There may not be many trees but there are some truly breathtaking survivors in the British Isles. Its a great book
They are managed as grouse shooting moors. The owners don’t want trees and the sheep and burning/cutting take out all the saplings. I’ve seen hundreds of birch trees intentionally burned by the game keepers where they had spread from an adjacent enclosed forest.
There is an event some 7000 years ago mentioned in which the Sahara desert formed in 200 years from green and pleasant lands and the north of Europe became very wet. A number of forests disappeared due to falling over in the wet ground. One example is Rannock Forest in Scotland now under a peat layer, found when the railway and the new 'A82' were built. A further event which submerged Doggerland 6000 years ago was the Norway trench tsunami which cleared all trees across the coasts of East England, North and East Scotland, all Scottish islands, and north Europe. These where not man made events. Then came man. And there is the always changing weather/climate and Iceland volcanoes.
Equally interesting is the question about why we continue to have no trees in many areas rather than just how we lost them. The info on your video about grouse moors and grouse drinking stations is one clue, and the sheep in the background are another. That area around Stanage Edge couldn't stay treeless by itself, the fenced off plantation area of your walk is a good illustration of what would happen on lots of open moorland if it was either not burnt back (which happens regularly to heather on managed grouse moors) or chewed back (which happens by farmers sheep). If it was truly wild and nobody was 'looking after the land' by continuing to suppress natural grown for their own commercial interests, it would very soon revert to woodland. It only stays desolate and treeless because it is 'managed' to be like that.
I also don't think people realise, how much timber was used for pit props and Britain's industrial revolution was built on coal extraction. Before that, charcoal from burning wood was the main fuel. Today though, too much of our upland is being planted with commercial plantations of Sitka Spruce.
Hard woods are slow growing, resilient. Not just for ships . There's no investment in replanting the native species ( sure people are ) thinking far beyond and seeing the bigger picture. Pine is a tax dodge, with a quick return. Money talks. Wood is so varied in it's usage.
Conifers are actually very good at storing water and are a real asset in managing flood risk, pine needles don't drop off in winter ... when it rains and floods, decidous trees drop their leaves in autumn and are very bad at holding water. Sometimes you need to understand cause and effect, not just hot air on'tinternet.
Very informative video Paul. Thanks for telling it. Like it is bro. Cheers 🍻
Wonderful, interesting and relaxing video in 4K. Thank you for sharing. Cheers!
The rapid construction and expansion of railways in the late 19th and early 20th Century (and the massive need for wooden sleepers to fit the rails onto) would also have cut heavily into woodlands throughout the country. Nowadays railways use concrete sleepers, but the devastation cut across England by HS2 has to be seen from the air to be believed. And we call that progress!
Another major user of timber was the mining industry. In earlier times (pre-hydraulics) pit props were (IIRC) normally softwood, but even in more modern times they used hardwood blocks as a base and cap to the (hydraulic) props. We used to make them in 4x4”, 5x5”, and 6x6” and about 18” long (100, 125 and 150mm x ~ 500mm) in the saw mill on a local ‘estate’ out of salvaged or ‘thinned out’ hardwood trees when I had a Saturday job as a ‘Woodman’ there way back in 1970.
Beautiful scenery and I love those rain catches. Logging removes trees for sure, but goat and sheep herding can prevent woodland regenerating because they eat saplings. Trees can take several years to begin producing seeds, and tree seeds are typically not very durable. So it isn't very difficult to eradicate a tree species from an area. The hilly, rocky areas you show here aren't well suited to arable farming, but they are suitable for grazing
Fortunate to live in East Kentucky USA. We have three areas of old growth forest that have never been cut. Trees hundreds of years old several meters thick and very tall. The canopy is so thick o ly small vegetation grows under them. Lilly Cornett Woods is one only 15 miles from home. Vids on youtube and Google. Eastern KY University oversees the area. Interesting what was. Paul when did they start mining coal in your area. They had to have it to make the steel and for heat in the cities. The smaller towns and villages have blackened buildings from all the coal burn soot located along the TET thru your area.
A gross simplification here but...
In the north of England, because we cut them all down to make charcoal for iron smelting. This then allowed sheep farming which was very profitable before cotton arrived and finished off the remaining trees. When the land was cleared it became the property of whoever cleared it, mainly the monasteries who controlled the iron smelting at the time. (You cannot make iron using coal without making coal into coke first, this process was discovered at the start of the industrial revolution.)
Numbered carved rock basins on Stanage Edge near Hathersage in the Derbyshire Peak District - made to supply water for the grouse on Hallam Moors.
I hope the bingo reference translated adequately to foreign viewers. Just subbed, Paul. Loving the second channel.
Much of the wood in the Peak District was consumed by mining operations, in particular the mining and smelting of lead and zinc. Wood was used extensively in those operations, in particular the smelting of the lead. Look at all of the bole hills in the peak, particularly the eastern side, where lead was processed and smelted , leaving vast tracks of pollution in the downwind direction, iron was also proceeds locally. A trip into one of the old underground workings, will often show where the wood has been used several hundred years ago to support mined material. The baulks of timber used are enormous.
Cracking little video Paul, with a history lesson thrown in too.
Good to see you making a fresh brew while you were out. Yes, a Thermos is great, but you can't beat a cuppa made from scratch.
Sweden is today covered to 68% of forest.
And Sweden's population density is only 25/km², England's is 438/km², so >17x more dense.
More people need more space, means less trees.
The reason native trees don't regenerate is mostly sheep (and deer). One sheep can demolish an entire grove of saplings for lunch. The only trees that survive are those on inaccessible cliffs. In other parts of europe with similar climate (northern spain) they mainly graze cattle which are much better for the upland environment. You simply can't have native trees and sheep, you can only have one.
Not quite as straight forward as that although partly true yes. There are parts of the UK that haven't had sheep at any numbers for a long time now and have little regeneration. Other parts have naturally regenerated in clusters. Deer are an issue where there is no sheep but up to a point. This is a very nuanced issue with lots of variability. Cattle can be better at low density but in reality the cattle that would be used would be from adjacent farms where they are already draining land, ploughing it up and planting single species grass and then the cattle need a lot of further feed which is part of the intensification problem and destruction of habitat ( large areas of northumberland, yorkshire and other places have seen marginal land around moorlands thoughtlessly dug up. No trees are even hedges. At least sheep at low density are usually hardy and while damaging to trees have overall less impact. Lot of nuanced issues.
I live near Eggesford forest in Devon that was the founding Forrest Commission plantation back in 1919 when the government finally decided to do something about it. As a result the area around here has many forsest plantations and walks.
I also remember from my school days being taughtthat the etymology of the word "Field" is derived from the word "Feld" so there's an obvious link there.
Trees haven't been replanted because the land owners want to retain the land for Grouse shooting. The sheep might also to be the cause of no new tree growth. I think their are parts of Wales where sheep are being removed to encourage growth.
Nice video again Paul, thanks for all your hard work, I think you should do a video about PFAS, because I think a lot of us outdoor lot don’t know and people listen to you and respect your opinion, Thanks again
If its anything like Australia, I would say the Government probably had a lot to do with the trees disappearing, seeing England is/was in charge down here.
To get a plot of land in Australia, back when it was first stolen, you had to "improve" your property, or risk losing your land.
I don't know the details, whether you had to clear land or other improvements were valid. Seeing as a saw, axe, shovel, fire and a strong back was the cheapest way of "improving" the land, that's what they did.
You blame everything in your history on the English. Australians were all in with the British empire and thrived due to it. Remember British means Scot’s,Irish Welsh English and Isle of Man.
Most of the trees are in the valleys around the South West moors. The steep slopes make any other use of the land difficult.
Conquest of the world needed a lot of ships and if you go to the Adriatic coast of Croatia the same situation because of the Romans cutting trees to build ships and fortifications.
I'm in the south and we have millions of trees within a few miles. If you're on moorland you won't many find trees. Kielder forest has about 150 million trees alone. It all depends where you go.
Not native trees tho
@@lewiswines3107 Mainly native actually near to me. Kielder isn't though as it's a man made commercial forest.
Interesting that you don't mention the sheep. Forest will grow back after you cut it, but it won't if you have sheep. In Finland 40 year old tree is ready for timber.
Why not replant reforest? All this baren landscape looks sad. In my country lot of forest were damaged by insects but now all those forests has been replanted and growing nicely.
It is not barren! Huge misconception.
@@matthalfmatthew1 denuded?
It has been said that in Elizabethan times a squirrel could travel from Essex to Anglesey without having to break cover
I thought we cut a lot down to buld ships for the navy, a few for mining, some for railways, some for housing, in fact quite a few things, the problem was no one wanted replanting as they preferred to turning into agricultural land, and the odd rich man's garden
Paul, I love the time you spend on your closing credits, it must take ages.
Also because we are an Island we were able to hunt down and remove the very last Wolves before the Europeans ; this allowed sheep and other grazing animals to keep the tree growth down and have a thriving wool industry .We could leave large flocks of sheep out overnight but the Continent had to bring them in overnight for protection
What sunshine is to Australia, rain is to England. Also, I have my Google Assistant set to the King's English (as well as Norwegian). I don't know how you manage to survive with Google Assistant in Trump's English!
Norway has some of the same problem. If you go to Røros there was a copper mine there in use from the early 1600's. In order to mine back in the day they set up heavy bonfires that heated the rock and then, after it was properly heated, quickly cooled it off by throwing water on the rocks. This worked quiet well actually. So well that a lot of the forests around Røros was cut down. Today there is a very bright green and monotonous forest around Røros. It's not the proper old primeval forest, it's quiet a young forest. But the industrialisation did that.
The same, I guess, was the case for the UK. Especially after the invention of the Newcomen.
Northern England is like the moon.
It was improved for agriculture. That's why there's lots of fields and little woodland.
Timber for ship building is the main reason the British Isles was denuded of it's original forests.
I prefer my Google narrator lady to your search engine bloke!
Another great vid and a new local destination for me, I've never walked there either 😁
I remember watching a documentary about the effect of volcanic activity in Iceland 3,500 years ago , namely Hekla 3 which erupted and covered much of Scotland, Ireland and upland Britain in a layer of ash which had the effect of altering the pH of the soil and caused a mass extinction of trees (Irish bog oak) and a mass exodus of people who fled south into England.
This was the explanation of the massive deforestation of Britain alongside human activity,
Also explains why there's so much pine in Scotland which is acid tolerant as opposed to broadleaf deciduous which is intolerant.
......
Do you know Jesus Christ can set you free from sins and save you from hell today
Jesus Christ is the only hope in this world no other gods will lead you to heaven
There is no security or hope with out Jesus Christ in this world come and repent of all sins today
Today is the day of salvation come to the loving savior Today repent and do not go to hell
Come to Jesus Christ today
Jesus Christ is only way to heaven
Repent and follow him today seek his heart Jesus Christ can fill the emptiness he can fill the void
Heaven and hell is real cone to the loving savior today
Today is the day of salvation tomorrow might be to late come to the loving savior today
Romans 6.23
For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
John 3:16-21
16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. 18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. 21 But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.
Mark 1.15
15 And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.
2 Peter 3:9
The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
Hebrews 11:6
6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
Jesus
Nice to see you again Paul nice bit of history of trees 🌳 looked abit foggy and wet can't beat a good cuppa when you are out better still nice cup of oxo remember that don't see that these days stay safe and stay healthy one life enjoy blessed be
It's very interesting. As part of a study in conservation, I did a lot of reviews into forest, woodland cover. Deforestation took place many years ago. Also as you point out Norfolk broads were man made.
loved this one Paul one of your best, great little bits of historic information as well, keep them coming
The reason there’s no trees where you are is because the rich people like to shoot those birds that you can hear in the background. And those birds live almost exclusively on the heather you are walking around.
And then it floods in the valleys below.
That’s it, blame the rich… 🧐
@@JohnSmith-gb5vgwell those who take up the “hobby” of shooting wildlife for “fun” without questioning the flooding from lack of trees. Who lay their fees and buy their guns for their “sport” and drive up to the moors to do their bloodthirsty “sport” .
.....
Jesus Christ is the only hope in this world no other gods will lead you to heaven
There is no security or hope with out Jesus Christ in this world come and repent of all sins today
Today is the day of salvation come to the loving savior Today repent and do not go to hell
Come to Jesus Christ today
Jesus Christ is only way to heaven
Repent and follow him today seek his heart Jesus Christ can fill the emptiness he can fill the void
Heaven and hell is real cone to the loving savior today
Today is the day of salvation tomorrow might be to late come to the loving savior today
Holy Spirit Can give you peace guidance and purpose and the Lord will
John 3:16-21
16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. 18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. 21 But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.
Mark 1.15
15 And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.
2 Peter 3:9
The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
Hebrews 11:6
6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
Jesus
Pretty sure the poor Brits cutting trees down for building material, heating and cooking for a thousand years might have something to do with it.
Interesting! Thanks Paul. We've lost so much oxygen. I couldn't help but notice how it (the all knowing AI) seemed to be sure of itself about 5000 years ago but 2000 years ago it's a best guess 😅 I'd love to see the rock bingo card, how many? It'd be great to nip back in time and see what it looked like there. I bet there are loads more interesting rocks under a bit of nature 👍🙃
Ship building was one of the main reasons the trees are gone. During the wooden ship era it took about 6000 trees to build a ship.
There’s no law saying you can’t plant trees & plants. In Australia we have a Land Care organisation, called Land Care.
😂 Paul: you made me laugh! Loved the beard comments 👍🏼 more please! 😂 Superthanks sent with best wishes 😊
A lot of our woodlands were planted. All the one's around my area in the north east was planted by two brothers in the 1700's, so they can be classed as ancient. It was treeless mining hills before that. But way way before this the forsets went right out to doggerland. A fossil of a giant deer antlers were found on the beach with fossilized tree stumps.
Paul, I think you missed a chance here. A good explanation on this interesting question would well fit to you and this channel. I'd be happy to listen to you on other, better prepared outdoor/nature topics. - That said, I know how much effort goes into maintaining a channel and obeying to the algorithms. Keep it up!
Also, true. The classic, 'slash and burn', which people are still using around the world today, in Brazil, Indonesia and the like!
There were no forests in England before 1066. "Forest" was a legal concept introduced by the Normans and meant land where hunting was reserved for the king - it had nothing to do with trees. Some forests were heavily wooded, some had a few areas of woodland but most of those in the north and west were moorland.
I thought the moors were without trees because the elevation made jt too windy for tress to grow? Thats why hardy low dense bushy shrubs like gorse and heather like it up there?
The treeline is 750m. Given seed source the moors would be blanketed in woodland.
Where were you walking? If you mentioned it, I missed it.
In reality the UK is actually a post environmental collapse civilisation, we are actually not damaging the environment, we are starting to recognise what needs to be done. Though I like the moors, and Glens of the UK, its a very barren hash environment in most areas, with a tragic beauty.
Did you know about Admiral Cuthbert Collingwood who planted during Napoleonic Era whole forests of Oak for timber for the Navy. Obviously technology has changed since then.
Don’t believe the numbers reason. They are really peg numbers for fishing competitions from the time when Stanage Edge was on the edge of a great lake covering the White Peak.😂
The cause of the loss of British woodland is quite simple. Much of the loss of tropical forest (Amazon etc) has a similar mechanism viz clearing for agriculture and logging without any thought to replanting. In the late Middle-Ages trees were axed on a massive scale for ship building.
My ancestors were foresters. Because a tree takes at least 30 years to mature (twice that for hardwoods like oak) the investment yields a return for the next generation. Re-planting requires very long future planning that requires guarantees that the land will remain in the same family ownership. Instability and wars will upset this.
British landed gentry preferred the quick buck of rental returns so did not see the need to invest in plantings other than small coverts for fox-hunting and shooting.
This is why the remaining woodlands only exist because they are publically owned such as Epping Forest, and the New Forest (though badly run and not at all commercial) and the Forestry Commission which has used public funds to invest in long term commercial woodlands.
I find it very hard to believe Bronze Age farmers felled so many trees. Why not the same in mainland Europe.
It is the same for Ireland.... I do not understand, why there are not massive reforestation projects.
Is there a place in England where the original forest still exists?
Do you think those numbers and lines on those rocks are some kind of trig point? Not sure what the lines would mean. Maybe pointing to another number?
Also some of them seem to also have a strange hole full of water connected to the lines which is strange.
Maybe it's a Rockstar Red Dead Redemption Easter egg yet to be solved! Lol
Lol I just got to the end of your video. All explained!
I grew up literally in Sherwood Forest, I played endlessly there as a kid, building dens, putting up rope swings running around, riding my bmx, it was a brilliant and joyous place to grow up, despite living in a pit village which many wrongly assume was pretty harsh. I have an affinity with trees, I love the smell of forests, the smell of the earth there and the bracken, the noises just sound like home to me. I’ve been saying for years we need a national tree planting day, I’d more than happily bin the easter egg nonsense and have a day where we all give/plant trees. I love that saying - a wise man is a man that plants a tree knowing he’ll never sit under the shade of its branches - but whilst governments continue to let immigration spiral out of control and farmers are shafted being forced to sell off land to developers for house building or solar farms, all whilst our food security is at a worryingly low percentage, then the future for our natural environment looks very grim. I really feel sorry for future generations of Brits, our green and pleasant land will have been concreted over so someone can move from one place where there are enough houses, to a place were there aren’t enough - it’s very sad 😢
I grew up in Ollerton a couple of miles down the road. Were you in Edwinstowe? Spent many a happy time in Sherwood Forest, exploring, making dens and swings. I need to do more of that 😍
@@messnersminutes yes mate, lived on Ollerton Rd, went to Rufford Comp, joined the Army in 89 (16 yrs old) and only go back that way occasionally now to see family that still live in the village. I now live in Suffolk and I so miss a proper deciduous forest, lots of pine forests the other side of Bury St Edmunds but they aren't the same, they are pretty grim, underneath the canopy it's pretty dead - but they must be doing more good for the environment than even more houses or a field full of solar panels! Do ya know what nothing puts a bigger smile on my face than seeing kids playing in the woods, making dens running round and having fun. As far as I'm concerned everyone wins if we have more forest and trees, hell you can even grow them and build homes, but alas there just isn't the appetite generally to do something, seems we are doomed to get fatter, unhealthier and live on a baron soulless island with no nature and no trees
Great stuff, loved this 👏😂
Britain grows willow for export to India to make cricket bats.
Ireland is similar. The majority of Ireland was old stand forest 600 +-years ago.Then the British Empire razed them to the ground for shipbuilding, fine furniture and construction. Today the amount the Island under forestation is in the low single figures. Only crap foreign softwood remains which is of no environmental value ,but is of significant harvest value for building.
The British empire did not help things in that regard but most of Irelands woodland was lost before the British invasions. Woodland cover was down to below 20%. A big part of that was they replaced the primary grazing animals (cows) with sheep which are much more destructive. Most of Irelands regeneration efforts have failed due to invasive Sika deer. Does not help that most people hold trees and nature in contempt and will cut down mature native trees at any opportunity to gain a little more land for grazing or an extra 20 minutes of sunlight during the day.
Ireland has made zero effort to improve wildlife and reforestation which is my understanding. As in the uk the farming industry lobbies are quite strong when it comes to govt
Forrests in the UK were only cut down by the tiny population of that era in gradually for agriculture peat and peat bogs were the created when climate beecame much wetter and colder submerging the tree roots. good example was Rannoch moor where excavation found masses of tree roots which proved it used to be a forrest
Thanks
We need to plant more trees. For our children, grandchdren and all the other generations
.....
Do you know Jesus Christ can set you free from sins and save you from hell today
Jesus Christ is the only hope in this world no other gods will lead you to heaven
There is no security or hope with out Jesus Christ in this world come and repent of all sins today
Today is the day of salvation come to the loving savior Today repent and do not go to hell
Come to Jesus Christ today
Jesus Christ is only way to heaven
Repent and follow him today seek his heart Jesus Christ can fill the emptiness he can fill the void
Heaven and hell is real cone to the loving savior today
Today is the day of salvation tomorrow might be to late come to the loving savior today
Romans 6.23
For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
John 3:16-21
16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. 18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. 21 But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.
Mark 1.15
15 And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.
2 Peter 3:9
The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
Hebrews 11:6
6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
Jesus
It has been happening for the past twenty years, witness The National Forest and other sown deciduous woodlands.
I’ve got over 300 trees in my garden.
Treemendous
Cheers mate. Hope you’re oak-ay?
Fire
🏴 Percentage wise ,Wales has more trees than England- but mostly not - native 🌲😕
We're lucky in England (at least the north west where I live) that all the forest clearance didn't leave us with the same midge problem that it resulted in in parts of Scotland.
They are moving south. Parts of the Lake District had swarms of them this year terrorising campsites
@StephenJReid bugger. They are a nightmare. The monster flies we already have are bad enough!
Looks like those rocks are funnelling water. Maybe they help as a guide, and provide a quick drink for your dog 🐕 🤔
Most of our national parks are grazed by farm animals, that's why. It's not difficult, it's being used as farm land. That's why where you're walking, there's dry stone walls to farm the animals.
....
Jesus Christ is the only hope in this world no other gods will lead you to heaven
There is no security or hope with out Jesus Christ in this world come and repent of all sins today
Today is the day of salvation come to the loving savior Today repent and do not go to hell
Come to Jesus Christ today
Jesus Christ is only way to heaven
Repent and follow him today seek his heart Jesus Christ can fill the emptiness he can fill the void
Heaven and hell is real cone to the loving savior today
Today is the day of salvation tomorrow might be to late come to the loving savior today
Holy Spirit Can give you peace guidance and purpose and the Lord will
John 3:16-21
16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. 18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. 21 But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.
Mark 1.15
15 And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.
2 Peter 3:9
The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
Hebrews 11:6
6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
Jesus
2000+ years of continuous occupation and domestication of wild areas has a cumulative effect
Ships of the line took 4000 0ak trees to build.
Be careful the reasons are more complicated.
The Romans built their famous roads on un wooded ridges as the lowlands eg Mercia were vert heavily forested. A lot of our woodlands were cut down for agriculture, more recently for industrial use eg charcoal for iron production prio to the 17 century.
It is also wrong to say that Scots pine has nearly died out in England. Look at forests such as Thetford. On the drier east of the country Scots pine is the dominet conifer. It is a pioner species and a light demanding species so colonises first but it is only the climax species on limited sites.
Intestingly we do import vast quantities of timber, mainly coniferous as that us what we need for houses, paper, chipboard. Sitka spruce is the main timber producing species in the UK and produces over 12 m3 per ha per annum. Oak at best can only produce 6 m3 per ha p.a. Iak will also only grow on a very limited range of soils and at low levels. Modern Britain needs coniferous timber to survive. There is much mis information out there and forestry or corectly "silviculture" is not understood by the vast majority of people. This us in marked contrast with a lot of our European neighbours where forestry is better understood
Regards
Alan. F I C For, NDF
They made a Lot of ships back then. The Trees just gave up.
5000 YEARS BP - UK had a very different climate