SAVERNAKE Forest may seem huge to visitors lost in its maze of roads and rides, but it is only a fraction of its original size.

The former royal hunting forest now has a circumference of some 16 miles but was once 15 times bigger and stretched from Hungerford in the east to Overton in the west, from the River Kennet in the north to Collingbourne Kingston in the south.

But even if it is but a fraction of what it used to be, it is still a wonderful place to visit.

Traces of ancient British villages and Roman roads can be found in the forest and some of its oldest trees, like the Big Belly Oak that stands beside the Marlborough-Burbage road, are historical themselves.

It's believed the Big Belly Oak is at least 1,100 years old and would still have been 600 years old when King Henry VIII courted and married Jane Seymour from nearby Wulfhall. The Seymours had been Wardens of the Forest since the early 15th century the present Warden is the Earl of Cardigan.

Since the Second World War, much of Savernake Forest has been run under a long lease by the Forestry Commission.

Some areas were planted with alien conifers but these are slowly being replaced by native broadleaf trees that would have historically been found in the forest.

The commission is also experimenting with re-introducing cattle to keep down undergrowth beneath the trees.