Country diary: Tree by tree, ash dieback is taking this wood | Derek Niemann

Willington, Bedfordshire: Such a generous, light-giving tree - we should all weep for this great loss to the British landscapeFor those who obeyed the rule to stay local through the pandemic, the rebound to places beyond walking distance can be a long time coming. "Three and a half years!" I exclaim as we emerge from the hedge-lined stretch of Wood Lane on to the stubble fields. A great sweep up the slope takes our eyes to the living monument on top, a woodland that goes back to Domesday, capping the brow of the hill. My memory had been of a continuous dark green strip, the crowns of hundreds of trees giving it a cumulus-effect bobbly roof.Though I had heard about the change, it is still a wrench to see the breaks. The intact wood has become like a gappy hedge. When ash dieback began to strike the wood before the pandemic, the estate did everything by the book. It worked with authorities and informed the council that it would be realising the commercial value of timber before disease rendered the trunks unsaleable. Continue reading...