As it turns out, the Service Trees do best with a little bit of oak shade to start with, so Cadbury planted five True Service Trees: three some time around the 1950s, and two (three?*) in the 1980s within a few metres of a log cabin he built in the woods. The two saplings are doing well (12 Sept 2005: Photo, Photo), but we could only see one of the older triplets, which was tall but somewhat thin (Photo). The tree does, indeed, look like an Ash (Photo Photo). The growth rate is low, with 50 years being perhaps 12 inches (30 cm) diameter. The forester said the tree fruited very rarely - he'd seen it flower and fruit the two years after he started working there, which was during a drought summer when other trees were dying off. He'd collected some fruits, which were like those of the Wild Service Tree (which he has growing in his garden: Leaves and Fruit [12 Sept 2005]), but about twice the size (maybe about 2cm) and more pear-shaped. He suggested the tree was rare, but not as rare as most make out, with more growing on the forestry land at the back of Withybed Wood, as well as Wild Service Trees.

You can easily get to the mature tree. Leaving Button Oak towards Bewdley, park in the Forestry Commission carpark about 500m into the wood on the left. Walk back up the road towards Button Oak on the opposite side. Just before the first house on the left there is a (private) gate, and just before this a stile. Go over the stile and follow the path to the road associated with the gate. Follow the road down to a rough T-junction and take the left road. Follow this down some 300m where you'll see the rough track on the right to the cabin. Don't follow this private road, instead keep going another 500m down the road to a point where the ground on the right slopes off steeply. The tree is some 5m down the slope.