Category: Upper field

Our Tree Warden, Roger Miles, has spotted that this tree, one of the largest on the Upper Field, has suffered a large crack in its trunk. A branch has now fallen as shown below.

It is a Norway Maple, about half way along the tarmaced path.

The photos below show the original crack, several feet long. It is dangerous to go near the tree which has now been red/white taped off .

The break in the tree, seen from both sides, is shown below.

Two other trees on the Heath, a beech and a cherry have recently lost heavy branches, but in these cases the cause was rot in the in the point where the branch met the main trunk.

The dangerous nature of this tree has been brought to the attention of SADC and now only the stump remains. It was necessary to remove the remaining branch because of its hazardous state,

We have now been in ‘Lockdown’ since March 23rd and since then the Heath has been very much busier than normal. Sunny weather has encouraged walkers, joggers and cyclists (often with children) to take advantage of what the Heath offers – it’s just like a weekend every day. The recently installed interpretation boards are also getting attention. The bluebells in Beech Bottom Dyke are also worth seeing, especially at the end near the railway.

While it’s good to see the Heath playing its part in providing a distraction from worries about Covid 19 and its consequences, it’s also apparent that there is less careless litter than might be expected for high summer. O’Conner the maintenance contractors have generally done a good job in clearing bins and cutting grass. Sadly, John O’Conner, the founder of the company, died in March partly as a consequence of Covid 19 infection.