World-renowned cricket bats grown in Milton Keynes!
Published: 26/11/24
You’d probably be surprised to learn that cricket bats used by players on international teams, such as England and India, are often made from Willow trees grown in Milton Keynes.
For over 30 years The Parks Trust has been planting more than 150 Willow trees each year, across the city’s 6,000 acres of parkland. These trees are grown as a commercial crop and the timber is sold to cricket bat manufacturers to help fund caring for, maintaining and improving Milton Keynes’ green spaces.
The trees are harvested when they reach maturity around 20 years old or when their stem has reached its optimal diameter for producing cricket bats. In autumn each year – after checking for wildlife - Willows are felled at the base to maximise the useable timber. However, in some locations a trickier ‘safe dismantling’ is required, which involves an expert tree-climbing team to fell the trees from top to bottom.
Once the trees have been cut into appropriate lengths, any remaining pieces are chipped. This leftover material is then used to resurface bridleways and leisure routes throughout the woodlands and parks within the care of the Trust. The chipped Willow is also used as a mulching material, as Willow contains nutrients that benefit other plants and trees.
James Stimpson, Landscape and Arboricultural Officer at The Parks Trust says ‘Growing the best timber we can is part of our landscape management operation, and this harvest helps to fund the work of the Trust as well as providing a useful byproduct for the parks. Our reliable supply of raw material to manufacturers demonstrates a sustainable crop, which is expertly felled by our team, and consistently produces the best cricket bats’.
Willow trees have been harvested from locations across the city’s parkland, at sites such as Waterhall Park, Woughton Park, and Pineham. Surridge Willow, winning bidders for this year’s stock, collect the felled trunks and cut them into rounds, which are then split into clefts. The clefts are dried to 10% moisture, graded, waxed and stored before being crafted by hand into recognisable cricket bats.
Find out more about the Cricket Bat Willow operation, including a video of the manufacturing process.
Find out how we care for over 6,000 acres of green space including parks, ancient woodlands, lakes, river valleys and 80 miles of landscaped areas along the grid roads.
