Ash to ashes
The Reverend William Gilpin, 18th-century promoter of the picturesque movement, fittingly dubbed the ash tree “the Venus of the forest”. Graceful, elegant, with its feathery, airy canopy, the late-flushing ash allows sunlight to filter through to the woodland floor, creating the perfect conditions for a vibrant springtime flora.
The ash grows in many kinds of woodland, but in particular it dominates those on calcareous soils – those containing lime or chalk – helping to create the distinctive landscapes of the Derbyshire Dales, the Mendips of Somerset or the wild uplands of the Yorkshire Dales.
To experience one of the most typical examples of these woods, a springtime walk along Lathkill Dale in the White Peak of Derbyshire is richly rewarding. Ashes crowd the riverbanks, and here and there tall, sinewy stands gently
