Glasdrum Wood National Nature Reserve

Glasdrum has been actively managed by people since at least the 17th century and probably from much earlier. The remains of charcoal platforms and a limekiln, which date from the 18th and 19th centuries provide evidence of industrial activity that required large quantities of wood. During this period Glasdrum was managed by coppicing, under a system by which scattered mature oak and ash trees and were left standing, with the intervening space used to allow oak and other underwood to be cut at 10-15 year intervals. Oak was the favoured species, due its strength, and the fact that bark could be used in the tanning process. Species such as birch, alder, willow and hazel were known as "black…