File:Gnarly trunk of ancient Sessile oak (Quercus petraea) - geograph.org.uk - 650274.jpg

English: Gnarly trunk of ancient Sessile oak (Quercus petraea) This ancient oak stands at a crossing of footpaths; in the information leaflet on Bacton Woods it is called 'grandparent' oak. The wood was used for sawn timber, veneer, building timber, hardwood pulp, poles, fencing, firewood and charcoal. Coppicing of woodland used to produce stakes. Tannin was produced from bark for tanning leather and the acorns were used to feed pigs. The area of Bacton Woods (also known as Witton Woods) covers 113 hectares; the woodland is owned by the Forestry Commission and partly managed by North Norfolk District Council, who together form the Bacton Woods Countryside Partnership Project. Bacton Woods consists of conifer plantations and mixed woodland, interspersed by open areas. The woodland is traversed by three marked walkways and by many smaller paths and cycle trails. There are over 30 species of trees, some native and some introduced. The northern part was originally an ancient broadleaf woodland but was planted with conifers after WWII. During more recent times these conifers are being thinned out and felled in order to create more biodiversity, and plants that are indicative of ancient woodland, such as bluebells, wood sorrel and dog's mercury, can again be found growing in this area.