Golitha Falls

Golitha Falls is a mixed oak woodland in Cornwall on the site of an ancient woodland. It is a National Nature Reserve set in a deep valley, the bottom of which houses the fast-flowing upper reaches of the River Fowey.

There really is no where else like it in Cornwall; the water tumbles, trickles, cascades, rushes, meanders and crashes through the valley, over boulders, under tree branches, around roots and through the tendrils of underwater plants. To the unobtrusive visitor, the only noises to disturb the constant but soothing whoosh of the water are the calls of the various winged inhabitants of the wood.

Why do I write of this?

I spent yesterday volunteering with Natural England trying to protect this Cornish nature haven from the blight of Phytophthora ramorum, known to many as 'Sudden Oak Death'. Although the Falls are as yet, not known to be contaminated, the larch trees within the woodland are potential carriers of the pathogen. 


Natural England employees and conservation volunteers alike embarked on the felling of any Larch trees within the woods. I, not possessing a chainsaw licence, had little to do at the beginning except watch these impressive trees fall like dominoes at the hands of my colleagues. I had never before heard the crash of tonnes of wood fall to the floor, taking any obstructing branches, and indeed, trees with it. Never had I felt underneath my feet, the tremors as shock waves pass through the earth in response to the huge disturbance. I have now. 


I had mixed emotions whilst watching the decades of growth plummet to the ground to find their final resting places. As a conservationist, I have always associated the felling of woodland to generally be a negative occurrence, my mind automatically flicking to the rapid loss of rainforests the world over. The education instilled unto me (quite rightly) drags my mind back to reason, just seconds after this initial generalisation. Unsurprisingly though, the benefits of felling never inspire such intense feelings within me as the negatives of it do. 


Conservationist or not, I couldn't help but feel impressed (and unnerved) at the relative ease with which one man with a chainsaw could make something so large tumble to the ground: like a child watching as a pencil stood on it's end fall over with a mere tap or puff. 


Yesterday, however, I observed first hand, just one of the positive benefits to the felling of trees in England. I've no doubt that everyone would agree, the felling of a dozen larch trees is of little consequence when attempting to maintain the integrity of hundreds of oaks in an age old woodland as beautiful as Golitha. 


An age old woodland that is, that houses hundreds of bird species, moths, mosses, liverworts, flowers and invertebrates. Just yesterday, I observed two courting ravens flying above the canopy, hundreds of polypody (a small fern) sticking out of branches and trunks, the bright 'Orange Jelly' fungus and 43 pied pied flycatcher nesting boxes littered the woodland in an attempt to encourage residence (and a welcome reminder spring is on its way!). Dippers are apparently a common sight to be seen flitting in and out of the river, alas I was not lucky enough to see one yesterday- an effective means of bribing me to visit again though! 


The most striking thing of all though? The green. Hundreds of different, shades of green, from the lichened bark of the trees, to the branches covered in thick, lush mosses, the undergrowth with sedges and ferns, the algae-covered rocks and boulders in the water and the strikingly bright patches dotted throughout the valley. A spectacle to behold on a crisp winters day, and a fantastic, worthwhile day's toil. 


Let's hope our work was not in vain, and the curse of Phytophthora remains at bay! 


Thanks for reading, 


Becky