I’ve spent the last two days exploring the fields and bridle paths around The Folly, a beautiful old farmhouse on the Belsay Estate in Northumberland.
Not just exploring, though—I’ve been surveying: measuring the girths of ash and oak, inspecting hollows, and noting signs of age, decay, and resilience. Some of these trees are over 200 years old. Some grow out of dry stone walls, while others are tucked into field corners or stand like sentinels on the ridge.
What struck me most was a large, three-sided shelter belt of ash that wraps around the entire northern flank of the farmhouse. Set within a low double curtain wall, these trees were clearly planted to protect the buildings from the full force of the wind. It’s a brilliant example of how functional trees were integrated into the design of upland farms. The shelter they create is still very much felt today.
There’s one ash coppice near the farmhouse with seven stems and a combined girth of over 7 meters—a vast, living structure.
Another ash, rooted deep in the stone wall just north of the house, has a girth of 4.57 meters. Many of these trees were once managed—pollarded and coppiced—but are now left to grow freely, twist, hollow out, and shelter wildlife.
I’m recording them for the Woodland Trust’s Ancient Tree Inventory to help protect them and honor their place in the story of this landscape.
They’re easy to overlook if you’re not paying attention. But once you truly see them, it’s hard to look away.
📷 I’ve included some photos below. Feel free to ask about any of them—or better yet, take a walk, find a tree, and tell its story.
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