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The Fir Tree, Wareham Forest, Dorset.

December 2016

In December 2016 I discovered this lonely fir tree near Morden Bog, at Wareham Forest, Dorset.  All the other trees around it had been felled, leaving just this one with its interestingly shaped trunk.

Update – December 2017: It took me a year to get round to processing this photo and, as I write this, almost exactly a year has gone past since I took that original photo. I now feel the need to go back and see how the tree is doing.

2 weeks later: Alas, the fir tree is now enclosed within a large fenced off area that is inaccessible to the public. This is good for the tree’s protection, of course, but bad from a photo point of view, as one side of the fence has been erected really close to it.

May 2020 (fire): On 18th May 2020 there was a huge fire at Wareham Forest, which made national headlines. The fire burned for almost two weeks due to high winds, eventually destroying about 550 acres (220 hectares). There was also a second fire, caused by a tree trunk that was still smouldering from the first fire.

Investigators believe the initial blaze was started by a disposable barbecue(s) or camp fire(s), although glass bottles were also found amongst the charred remains.

‘My’ fir tree was lucky inasmuch as it was right on the edge of where the fire stopped and it didn’t actually catch alight, but it has been badly singed. All the needles are gone (see photo below, taken on 22nd November) and I fear for the tree’s future.

Will this lonely fir tree recover? Watch this space.

The fir tree after the Wareham Forest fire.

November 2020: the fir tree after the 2020 Wareham Forest fire.
The branches are singed and the needles are gone. The only sign of life is pretty much the lower trunk.

#thetreemorden