An elephant in the wood

If you need to refresh both body and mind this autumn, then add a visit to the Woodland Trust’s Throne Wood to your diary.  This beautiful broadleaved woodland, at the foot of Cave Hill in north Belfast, rustles with history and wildlife.

Throne Wood, probably planted in the early 1800s, belonged to a house marked on the 1830 Ordnance Survey map as ‘The Throne’. The renowned poet Sir Samuel Ferguson actually lived there for a time in the 1820s. Today, while unfortunately only faint traces of the house remain, some magnificent veteran trees – including beech and lime - have managed to survive.

Hazelwood Integrated Primary School is right next door to Throne Wood and the children regularly use the wood as an outdoor classroom.  They have also researched the history of the area and have unveiled a heart-warming story. 

Hazelwood’s Jim McDaid says: “The pupils have been finding out about the extraordinary story of Sheila the baby elephant, from Belfast Zoo. During the Second World War a number of the zoo animals were shot on the orders of the Ministry of Public Security because of fears that if a bomb hit the zoo the animals would escape and pose a threat to the public. But baby Sheila was spared and one of the female zoo keepers, without the knowledge of the head keeper, walked her back every night to her home on the Whitewell Road via Throne Wood. And every morning she was returned to the zoo.

“The children were thrilled to discover that the story had captured the imagination of children’s author Michael Morpurgo, who actually used the story of Sheila for his war tale ‘An Elephant in the Garden’.”  

Today, while elephant sightings cannot be guaranteed, walkers will enjoy a quiet stroll through this green oasis in an urban setting.  The veteran trees, buffered by hundreds of recently planted native saplings, are alive with insects and birds, including the goldcrest, treecreeper, jay and sparrowhawk. Several species of bat, such as the pipistrelle, have also been spotted in the wood.

Springtime visitors will be treated to colourful displays of bluebell, lesser celandine and wood anemone, while autumn’s stunning colours are just around the corner.

Readers can take a closer look at Throne Wood and other Woodland Trust woods in Broadleaf, the Trust’s magazine for members.  For further information on the work of the Trust, or to find out how to become a member, please telephone 028 9127 5787.

Throne Wood can be accessed via the Antrim Road in north Belfast.