I suspect that the ancient beech tree in Ashridge's Frithden Beeches filmed in the making of a Harry Potter film is the most famous tree in Ashridge.
However, I have been visiting another beech tree in Ashridge for a number of years which in my eyes is even more wonderful.
This tree has lost the top of its trunk, practically all of its heartwood centre and most of the trunk's perimeter from rot. And yet it still manages to sprout a small canopy each year from wildly contorted branches growing from the top of its truncated trunk.
This tree has lost the top of its trunk, practically all of its heartwood centre and most of the trunk's perimeter from rot. And yet it still manages to sprout a small canopy each year from wildly contorted branches growing from the top of its truncated trunk. 
It must have been quite a substantial tree before it lost its top section of trunk. Apart from the base, most of which is rotten, all that is left now is a two foot wide by about 5 inches thick spiral band of live wood following the original twist of the tree.
It is not the easiest of trees to photograph, especially in summer when the light is cut out by the leaves. I hope my photos taken this weekend properly shows this wonderful example of how nature is determined to survive despite all the odds.
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