OWLS:

Wood pasture, parkland and veteran trees


Veteran tree

These habitats are most usually associated with the large areas of parkland distributed throughout the county, with Blenheim Park near Woodstock being the most familiar example.

These areas would have been traditionally enclosed and grazed by deer, sheep or cattle on grassland dotted with ancient or veteran trees. The latter, which are frequently oak, can be many hundreds of years old, and support a wide range of rare spiders, beetles and other invertebrates.