THE Tamar Valley Centre will be welcoming back writer and broadcaster Rob Penn next month, to talk about his new book The Man Who Made Things Out of Trees.

In 2012, Rob Penn felled and replanted a great ash from a Welsh wood in order to explore the true value of the tree that has been made the greatest and most varied use of throughout human history.

Over the next two years he travelled across Britain to Europe and the USA, to the workshops and barns of a generation of craftsmen committed to working with wood. He watched them make more than 45 different artefacts, wares and tools out of his ash.

Corinna Woodall, Tamar Valley AONB manager, said: ‘This inspiring talk is very timely. Ash trees are a very significant feature of the Tamar Valley landscape. We are currently involved in a project to identify and tag ash trees, in the face of the inevitable march of ash die back. We have been learning how to spot the signs, will be tagging and monitoring trees, so we can be prepared for the management issues this will bring.

‘Rob first visited the Tamar Valley in February 2014, when he gave a wonderful talk on his experience of bringing an unmanaged woodland back to life, with the support of the community and landowners in the Black Mountains. We are delighted to welcome Rob back.’

The free talk will take place on Saturday, November 14. Please arrive at the Tamar Valley Centre, Drakewalls, at 6.30pm, ready for the talk to begin at 7pm. Rob will stay afterwards to sign copies of his new book.

Booking is essential as places are limited. Book early to avoid disappointment by emailing [email protected]