Dianne Boardman explores this incredible area with Andy Newton from the Woodland Trust.
SPRING has sprung at last and summer is shimmering on the horizon like a hopeful mirage.
My favourite wildflowers are blooming as blue as the sky. It’s a perfect day for a woodland walk.
Sadly, though, our ancient woodlands are disappearing fast with less than seven per cent of Britain’s native woodlands in good ecological condition.
I’m taking a walk through the bluebells with Andy Newton, northern Site Manager for the Woodland Trust, at award-winning Hackfall woods, on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales.
Hackfall encompasses nearly 120 acres of steep gorge rising above the River Ure between Harrogate and Ripon.
It is threaded with rough paths, carved and cleared to showcase magnificent views and a 40-foot waterfall.
Andy’s enthusiasm is infectious and soon I’m fizzing with anticipation at seeing not only my beloved bluebells, but also the centuries-old trees he’s talking about.
“Hackfall is a rare, ancient woodland and so important to us,” he says. “We are custodians of this dwindling legacy.
“We are doing our best to protect it, whether by raising objections to its destruction or by restoring it for future generations.”
I take a deep breath of that smell of ferny dampness, composting leaves and mud that always takes me back to childhood.
Andy grew up near an ancient woodland in the north-east of England.
“It was my playground,” he explains, “but it didn’t occur to me I could work in the woods.”
He was a policeman in a difficult patch until his late twenties, when he decided to go back to college to study forestry.
After a spell in Scotland, he moved to Yorkshire.
“I’m still getting the feel for this place,” Andy says. “It’s a place you need to sit in for a while and get your eye in.”
I wondered if he ever got lonely in this silent forest.
“No,” he replies, “I like it. Anyway, I have lots of contact with the general public, who are free to wander in here.
“We have quite a few volunteers who are always around, too.”
As we walk the dirt tracks, muddy from recent rain, Andy explains that it is a fine balance between making the place safe for walkers and retaining the natural habitat.
You won’t find concrete or asphalt here, but access has been cleared, edges banked up and steps cut out with branches.
