Anyone fixated with rewilding as the only model to restore nature to Britain’s denuded uplands would do well to visit Extremadura in Spain. From a spot called Peña Falcón at the heart of this national park, there unfolds an immense oak forest rolling to every horizon.
This landscape may look devoid of people, but every tree has been hand-sculpted (by chainsaw these days) to be flat-topped. In turn, each oak creates wood pasture that accommodates sheep, cattle, pigs, timber, cork and cereals, among others. It is also among the richest wildlife places in western Europe.
