Rather than clambering around the cliffs of the mouth of the Wye, it is easier to see the tree further up the Wye valley within the Wyre forest. Of all the sites listed by Jenkins* Withybed Wood happened to be the closest when I visited the area. However, after two hours of fruitless searching the advantages of closeness were starting to fade somewhat, and I was ready to knock on the door of one of the houses on the edge of the wood in desperation. As luck would have it, the tenant was the excellent Tony Pulford - previously forester of the wood. Tony had worked for Dr Cadbury, scion of the chocolate family and the owner of the wood. He was a mass of information about the wood, and the tree.

Cadbury's father bought the 600 acres for 1000 pounds when it was coppiced oak. This used to be the dominant woodland in the area - forested to supply Birmingham's industrial needs. Following the second world war, in line with government policy at the time, the wood had been replanted with conifirs to provide much needed materials. However, when Dr Cadbury took over he had started to thin it out and interleaf more traditional varieties, including encouraging the oak.

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