Trees, Fire, Gin and the End of the World

Last night saw another successful Friends of Horfield Common guided walk, this time as part of the Festival of Nature programme. Despite rain for much of the day, the weather cleared in time for us to set off around the Common and the Ardagh with local naturalist Steve England, following the Twelve Trees Trail leaflet route, with a few interesting detours along the way.
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The Twelve Trees Trail leaflet, which is available free from Café on the Common, introduces twelve of the Common's most notable trees. However, as anyone who has joined one of Steve's walks will know, the real magic lies in the stories behind them.​

Without giving too much away, we discovered which trees can be used to flavour gin, which have contributed to some of our most familiar medicines, and how trees can help you work out the points of the compass. We learned which species were prized for shipbuilding, which thrive after wildfire, and which have been part of the landscape since the time of the Domesday Book.

Perhaps most importantly, we also found out which trees you would want around you in the event of an apocalypse.

As if that was not enough, Steve treated us to a couple of practical demonstrations, including making soap from natural materials and lighting a small fire, while also sharing plenty of bonus facts about fungi and the hidden relationships between trees and the wider ecosystem.

One of the pleasures of these walks is that they change the way you look at familiar places. Trees that many of us pass every day suddenly become full of history, uses, wildlife value and surprising stories.

A big thank you to Steve for another fascinating and entertaining evening, to the Festival of Nature for funding the walk, and to everyone who joined us despite the uncertain weather.
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If you would like to explore the trail yourself, pick up a free copy of the Twelve Trees Trail leaflet from Café on the Common.

Our next walk with Steve is WALK ON THE WILD SIDE in July and can be booked here

For more Festival of Nature activities this weekend, please visit https://www.bnhc.org.uk/festival-of-nature/​