In human terms, Frodsham is old. There has been a settlement here for over 1,000 years. This timescale appears insignificant, however, when compared to what was here before.

At the end of the last ice age, about 11,000 years ago, much of Britain was covered in vast sheets of ice. As the ice retreated, trees moved in, covering the land in forest. This was called the wildwood.

Left undisturbed for thousands of years, the wildwood developed an incredibly rich and varied ecosystem, the most biodiverse habitat in Britain.

Cheshire had its own section of wildwood: the forests of Mara and Mondrem. Covering over 60 square miles from the Mersey in the north, to Nantwich in the south, and across to the Weaver in the east, this vast forest endured for thousands of years.

Gradually, humans reduced the woodland cover, cutting down trees for firewood and clearing forests for farms and villages. By modern times there was very little of this ancient woodland left.

There are remnants, however, mainly along the Weaver Valley. 'Clough' woodlands on the banks of streams were too steep to build or plant on, and so were left alone. These tiny pieces of the wildwood still contain much of that ancient forest's biodiversity.

Frodsham has such a woodland: Hob Hey Wood.

Nestled in a valley between Townfield and Bradley Lanes, this is Frodsham's own piece of ancient woodland. This fragment of the wildwood has endured for thousands of years, evading chainsaw and bulldozer alike.

A visitor to Hob Hey Wood today, who ventures off the path, will find an environment that would have been familiar to an Iron Age wanderer.

The wood is a haven for wildlife of all kinds and contains much to delight human visitors all year round.

In the middle of the wood stands a mighty oak. With a girth of over six metres, it's well over 200 years old. This tree was already large by the time of the Battle of Waterloo in 1815 and has seen all of human history since that time, mutely observing and growing in the years since.

It has hosted hundreds of nests, seen thousands of birds fledge, witnessed countless life and death struggles between predator and prey.

Mature oaks like this are incredibly valuable for wildlife, supporting over 200 species of insect as well as many animals, fungi, birds and others.

As oaks go, it is not even middle aged. This tree could easily live several more centuries.