Monks Wood

Y and I and of course the three dogs took a walk around Monks wood this morning to get out of the wind and the occasional wintry shower. In the wood there are areas that clearly show the ridge and furrow of the Medieval landscape - which is interesting as it is referred to as the the largest plot of ancient woodlands in Cambridgeshire.

The photo shows ridges across the access road



Here in the woods the ridges are 45 degrees to those above, indicating that this was part of a field system.



As with many woods there are also ditches that run along the edge of the rides or larger pathways - these are linked to woodland management - and can be as old as the wood itself.



Much of the wooded areas in in Huntingdonshire have been maintained and managed for hundreds of years as the are was a royal hunting ground from at least Norman times. The names of farms in the area relate to the hunting lodges - Blacklodge Farm, Holly Lodge Farm, Brook Lodge farm, Whiteleather Lodge, Woolley. But the place names also indicate an older history - Buckworth is derived from a Saxon's cheiftans name and literaly means Bucge's Wood - the same man is remembered in the name Buckden a few miles south on the A1 - Bucge's Valley. So while some of the woodland has ridge and furrow within it - this still could have been woodland for over 1,000 years. Although we are most familiar with the remaining 'Medeival' ridge and furrow in pastureland or 'sheep walks' of east anglia - ridge and furrow can be much older.