Island Life Magazine Ltd August/September 2007 | Page 66

life COUNTRYSIDE, WILDLIFE & FARMING Countryside from a Steam Train By Tony Ridd - [email protected] There are many ways of viewing the countryside around us, but few can be more nostalgic and romantic than seeing it from a steam train. I am lucky enough to have clients who’s land is adjacent to the Havenstreet railway line, and when working there, love watching the spectacle of the highly prized steam train pass by, with it’s passengers leaning out of the carriage windows, absorbing the wildlife and countryside around them. What’s particularly good about train travel is that you get an elevated view of the countryside. Lorry and tractor 66 drivers get this anyway but for the majority, cars tend to be lower than hedges so you never really get to see what’s on the other side. As a passenger in a smart, clean and comfy carriage, more than a hundred years old, you have the advantage of this lofty position passing through some of the most unspoilt scenery on the island and you get the chance to really appreciate what is around you with a sense of going back in time. Just down the line to Havenstreet is Briddlesford Copse, owned and carefully managed by the People's Trust for Endangered Species – over the last couple of years we have planted more than 7000 new trees and coppiced several acres of deciduous woodland. Access is limited to the copse, as it is used for research by the trust, but luckily the train passes through a large part of the wood giving you the chance to glimpse some of the work that has been taking place. It is a native, deciduous woodland with some parts being classified as ancient. This means that it has been continuously wooded for more than 450 years. Further west towards Wootton you pass through an area known as Littletown, where apart from the railway line being laid in the late nineteenth century, the small field system Island Life - www.islandlife.tv