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Finding Britain’s ‘shadow woods’ offers the fastest way to reforest the countryside
IAN D ROTHERHAM offers a glimpse into Britain’s ancient landscapes

WHEN William the Conqueror surveyed his new kingdom in 1086, from lowland to upland, Britain was covered with trees. 

In low-lying Yorkshire, the East Anglian fens and the Somerset Levels, wet woods of tall white willows and alders lined great rivers. 

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