Yesterday I had the pleasure of Bertie and co. to a jaunt Englandwards to meet my father for a pleasurable lunch at the usual haunt in the Midlands. On the way back, Bertie asked if we could visit a magical tree that is near there. Now, google is not much help with this tree. It's called the white-leaved oak, or the witch's oak, and I can tell it's near the Malverns. It is also apparently where several leylines cross, but seeing as these aren't mentioned on TomTom or google maps, actually finding the tree wasn't going to be easy. I knew it was near a place called Eastnor, and websites point you to the Eastnor Vale and Eastnor Castle, but that was about the most detail we could find. A scan of google map showed a hamlet (about 5 houses) called Whiteleaved Oak, and this had to be a good starting place. We got into the hamlet itself without problems, but drove straight through and out the other side. Luckily, we found a few tourist boards, which made reference to the oak but didn't actually show where it was. Anyway, just at that moment, a farmer appeared. I asked about it, and he pointed me back to the hamlet, where we parked and took a walk across a couple of fields to eventually find it. The actual location, if you're googling it, is hereThe tree itself is quite magical. All visitors like to leave something for the fairies as a small gift, and it is adorned with all sorts of coloured ribbons, bracelets, a horseshoe and even a small book. I believe the tree is dead, not because it wasn't green, but because John decided to climb up it, only to find it hollow inside. It decidedly tranquil however, and I would have stayed a while longer if I hadn't forgotten to lock the car! Still, maybe one day I'll return.
