Wistman’s Wood is a 3.5 hectare oak forest located at an altitude of 380-410 meters in the West Dart valley, in Dartmoor, Devon, England,United Kingdom.
The most common trees are pedunculate oaks, These oak trees are approximately 400-500 years old, and this small forest is all that remains of an ancient forest that supposedly stretched here since 7000 AD. BC.
It is one of the remote high-altitude oak forests in Britain and, as an outstanding example of natural highland oak woodland, was selected as a Site of Special Scientific Interest in 1964. Also included in Derek Ratcliffe’s 2-volume Conservation Review as one of the UK’s most important conservation sites. It is part of the national nature reserve of the same name.
Access : Coordinates: 50.577, -3.961 / Wistman’s Wood located in Dartmoor , an upland area in southern Devon, South West England.
Highlights :
- The forest was a source of inspiration for many artists, poets and photographers, and appears in hundreds of nineteenth-century stories. There is a legend according to which the forest was planted by Isabella de Fortibus.
- The name of Whistman Wood may be derived from the dialect word “wisht”, which means “spooky” or “pixie-driven” and is associated with legends from the Wild Hunt – hellhounds chasing down sinners or the unbaptized, locally known as Yet (Heath) or Wisht -hounds.
Go next : Two Bridges, Devon / Beardown Man, Dartmoor / Crazywell Pool or Crazy Well Pool / Jay’s Grave.