The Ancient Woods of South-East Wales

The ancient woods of south-east Wales are treasures of a rich landscape. Describing the geology, history and flora of many individual woods, The Ancient Woods of South-East Wales recounts how these special places have altered or been altered and how they may change in future.

With understated humour and his unusual insights, Oliver Rackham reveals their histories, in this new book, published in collaboration with The Woodland Trust. He was drawn to oddities and mysteries of trees and landscapes: bell-pits, a strange dwarf oakwood, towering gnarled beeches, and the famous rare Tintern spurge. ‘Dark on the horizon’, he writes, ‘is the high ridge of Coed Gwent, Wentwood’, and he explores it with fascination.