Oak
Oak
- Diameter - 1.47 metres, Height - 28 metres
- Age (Estimated) - 250-300 years
- Crown Spread: North - 14 metres, East - 14 metres, South - 14 metres, West - 14 metres
Follow the easterly path from the second car park at Delph Woods, over the footbridge, where in a vast clearing you will discover this impressive dominating Oak.
The Oak is one of the largest and enduring of our native trees. The sturdy, massive trunk, the broad, rounded outline of its crown, its wide spreading lower limbs and the egg-and-cup shaped fruit, make it a unique and unmistakable feature of the English landscape.
During the Celtic periods the common Oak tree was held very sacred and the Druids would gather Mistletoe from its boughs for their secret rites. Ever since those days the Quercus robur has been the king of British trees, as sturdy as the Latin name would suggest.
Sadly, the timber from these great trees became victim to the construction industry during earlier centuries because of its durability and flexibility for timber framed buildings and ships.
By the time of Elizabeth 1, the felling of Oaks had become so extensive that laws had to be passed to protect the trees, and later demands from the navy led to extensive planting of Oaks in royal forests.
Although Delph Woods is not a royal forest, many enjoy the pleasures it has to offer an the contribution from this king of the wood is truly Great.
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