So many fallen sweet chestnuts covered the paths in this wooded garden.
It was like walking on marshmallow — a soft cushion under the boots.
In the trees, birds were singing — robins, song thrushes, jackdaws, and blackcaps.
This garden has treecreepers, a mystical bird that walks up (never down) trees.
I wonder how old these trees are? Sweet Chestnut trees live long lives: 700 years or so.
There is a tree known as Castagno dei Cento Cavalli on Mount Etna that is estimated as aged between 2000 to 4000 years old. In Britain, some sweet chestnut trees are 400 to 500 years old, meaning they were around during the Tudor and Stuart periods.
How did they get to Britain? Theophrastus (371–287 BC), ‘the father of botany’, spoke of sweet chestnut covering the slopes of Mount Olympus. Some people say the Romans must have brought them here for their kitchen gardens.
Facts credit: https://www.forestryjournal.co.uk/features/18952371.disputed-origin-uncertain-future-sweet-chestnut/