Lady of the Woods

It was my last day off work today and we went for a walk at the RSPB reserve at Arne, just outside Wareham. I did a bit of research on the birch tree.

Apparently the birch was prolific in the British Isles before the last Ice Age and was one of the first trees to recolonise the British landscape after the Ice Age. It was known as Beth to the ancient Celts. It represented new life and fertility to them and has been used through the ages in May Day celebrations. The word birch is thought to have derived from the Sanskrit word, bhurga, that means 'a tree whose bark is used to write upon'. The poet, ST Coleridge called it the 'Lady of the Woods' and it is thought that he was drawing on ancient folklore when he described the birch this way.