Dartmoor: Completing a Woodland Valley With Native Tree Planting

Planting to Fit the Valley

The aim was not to create a square block of plantation woodland.

The new planting needed to feel like it belonged in the valley. We used native species chosen to mirror the existing woodland, including pedunculate oak, hazel, elder, hawthorn, wild cherry, field maple and rowan.

The trees were sourced from a nursery within the same county, as the client wanted the stock to be as local as possible and already suited to the damp, mild conditions of the South West.

The planting design included three access rides leading in from different gates around the field, with an open glade left in the middle. These open spaces were important for future maintenance access, but also for the structure of the woodland itself.

A good woodland is not just dense trees from edge to edge. Rides, glades and edges create variation. They bring in light, warmth and shelter, and they give different species different places to live.

Rides, Glades and Woodland Edge

The rides were flanked with clusters of hedgerow and shrub species, helping create a gradual transition from open space into closed canopy woodland.

Hazel, elder and hawthorn were used along the rides and glade edges to create softer woodland margins. These species will provide flowers, berries, shelter and nesting opportunities, while helping the rides feel like part of the woodland rather than simple gaps left for access.

The main woodland areas were planted with more prominent native woodland species, with oak planted in randomised clusters and blocks across the site. This was intended to mimic the surrounding woodland more naturally than a rigid planting grid would have done.

The whole field was planted in a way that should eventually create a varied woodland structure: open rides, a central glade, shrub-rich edges, and denser canopy-forming trees through the main body of the site.

A Difficult Site to Deliver

The site was a real challenge.

Access was up a steep, rocky farm track, then through several fields to reach the planting area. Materials were delivered lower down and had to be moved up to the field using our truck, followed by a lot of hand carrying across steep ground.

The weather was horrific. We were working through gale-force wind, horizontal rain and wet Dartmoor conditions, on a slope that made even simple tasks harder. Moving around the site, keeping materials organised and maintaining planting quality took real effort.

There were also sheep in the same field while we were working, and fencing contractors installing fencing along the top side of the field. Because the fencing was not yet complete, we had to make sure every tree was properly staked, tubed and protected at the end of each day so sheep and deer could not damage them overnight.

Deer pressure in the valley was high, so the trees were planted with 1.8m stakes and tall tree tubes, along with mulch mats and pegs to help reduce competition around each tree.