Dartmoor's Twisted Oaks

With its ancient moss-covered trees and boulder-strewn floor, Wistman’s Wood exudes an atmosphere of mystery.

- Simone Stanbrook-Byrne

AT THE HEART of remote Dartmoor in England’s South West lies a strange and mysterious wood. Pale spring sunlight trickles through just-unfurling leaves, cascading down twisted, stunted trunks of oak trees. Huge, moss-softened boulders cover the woodland floor. The music of the meandering West Dart River filters through lichen-festooned branches, creating a harmony with birdsong. At the woodland edge, a cuckoo calls.

This is Wistman’s Wood, a long, narrow tract of trees flanking the west-facing slope of a valley 165ft (50m) from the river. It is one of only three high-altitude woods on the moor. At its highest point, the 8.5 acre wood sits 1,425ft (435m) above sea level. This altitude makes it a rare habitat for the south of England, with a range of plants more typical of northern England or the Scottish Highlands.

Within its borders, lichens and bryophytes – primitive non-vascular types of plant communities such as mosses and liverworts – cloak the gnarled branches. They bring an ethereal, haunted quality to the wood. Their dense velvet and frilled greenery upholster the mighty granite boulders known as clitter. Swathes of fruticose lichen, an indicator of clean air, drip from the twisted branches. In 2003, 158 species of lichen were recorded here, including usnea, or bearded lichens. These have expressive and descriptive common names such as string-of-sausage and witches’ whiskers. Their greyish-green, wispy forms against the dark trunks create a long-forgotten, almost lost world ambience.

Shaped by nature

The woodland sits within a larger National Nature Reserve, itself within a Site of Special Scientific Interest. It is managed by Natural England.