A Stag stood next to a large tree within the woodland of Windsor Great Park

Woodland, parkland and wood pasture

The Windsor Estate has one of the largest collections of ancient and veteran oak trees that remain anywhere in northern Europe. These are our most important conservation asset, and they can easily be seen in the varied landscape types across the Estate – open parkland, native woodland and plantations, and, wood pasture.

The sheer scale and continuity of tree coverage, both in terms of space and time – has led to an outstanding wealth of biodiversity above and below the ground.

What is wood pasture?

Wood Pasture

Wood pasture is a habitat where grazing animals roam amongst trees, shrubs and grassland or other vegetation.

Find out more about wood pasture and parkland at Woodland Trust.

What is an ancient tree?

Ancient trees

Ancient trees are irreplaceable. Steeped in history, these impressive trees have been standing tall for hundreds of years, witnessing momentous historical events while providing invaluable homes for wildlife. The older the tree, the more vital to wildlife it becomes.

Characteristics of an ancient tree depend on the species, and on factors such as the site and conditions under which they have grown.

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However, they have three key features:

A low, fat and squat shape – because the crown has retrenched (reduced in size) through age
A wide trunk compared with others of the same species
Hollowing of the trunk (not always visible)

Find out more about ancient trees at Woodland Trust.

What is a veteran tree?

Veteran tree

Unlike an ancient tree, a veteran tree can be any age, but it is a tree which shows ancient characteristics. These may not just be due to age, but could result from natural damage, management, or the tree’s environment. Ancient trees are all veterans, but not all veterans are ancient.

Find out more about ancient and veteran trees at Ancient Tree forum.

Ancient and veteran trees

On The Windsor Estate these are mostly English oak and Beech, but there are also very old and large specimens of Lime, Sweet chestnut, Silver birch, Field maple, Hornbeam, Crab apple, Hawthorn, as well as some ornamentals and conifers.

As well as ancient trees, the Estate also retains large tracts of ancient woodland. Old maps reveal that these areas have had continuous woodland cover since at least 1600.

Our work in the woodland

Our work

We seek to manage the old trees with great care, aiming to maintain their health and vigour and keep them alive and standing for as long as possible. This can involve removing nearby trees from crowding and shading them, preventing damage to their roots by compaction, soil disturbance or chemicals, and in some cases careful tree surgery to avoid collapse.

No tree will last forever, and part of our stewardship role today is to plant the ancient and veteran trees of future centuries. These include the ‘open grown’ English oaks for which Windsor is famous. ‘Open grown’ means that the young tree will have space to develop a large spreading crown, uninhibited by other trees. The oldest oak trees at Windsor have grown in an open landscape, that is why they have managed to remain alive and healthy for over 500 years and often much longer.

Elsewhere, our long-term tree planting programme ensures that we are creating a well-balanced woodland and tree’d landscape that encompasses a spread of generations and varieties. We do this through:

Continual monitoring of the health and structure of the woodland
Planting a variety of native and climate resilient species for wildlife and landscape
Thinning to allow stronger trees to grow into better specimens
Managing invasive species to make space for natural flora and fauna to thrive

Explore our habitats and wildlife

Dig deeper into the habitats, the wildlife they support and the work we do to preserve them for the benefit of the nation.

Woodland, parkland and wood pasture

What is wood pasture?

Wood Pasture

What is an ancient tree?

Ancient trees

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What is a veteran tree?

Veteran tree

Ancient and veteran trees

Ancient and veteran trees

Our work in the woodland

Our work

Explore our habitats and wildlife

Conservation & Stewardship

Grassland and heathland

Lakes, ponds and wetlands

Wildlife