The montados (known as dehesas in Spain) are extensive cork and holm oak forests and offer lynx habitat, lynx mothers will use old hollows of cork oak trees to raise their young safely. Cork is harvested only every 9-10 years and holm oak is not harvested except for the black pigs which happily snatch up the fallen acorns in the Autumn months, a low intervention type of farming which suits wildlife well.

This cork oak stands majestically casting shade over the assembled cork cutters as a shepherd walks by with his flock, giving a sense of the scale of what has just been named ‘European tree of 2018’

I took this photo back in June 2000, after a long journey in our trusty Renault 4 starting at 4am. Corkcutting takes place in the heat of the summer when the cork leaves the inner bark of the trees more easily, so it starts early just as dawn breaks before the searing heat can stop work for the day.

It took four experienced corkcutters 6 hours to wrest a whole ton of cork from this magnificent tree, I watched as it’s golden inner bark was gradually revealed, using 6 rolls of film and taking them to be developed on the way home (this was before digital!) It was mesmerising and well worth the early start to my day.