Bracken in open ground can come to dominate the vegetation. Under trees it will still grow but not so vigorously; the shade of trees denies it full sunlight on which it thrives. But in the last week the new bracken shoots in parts of the open ground have been badly scorched by frost and killed. So for once those ferns close to trees have actually done better - protected from the worst of the cold air.
When Sheffield Wildlife Trust first decided to put cattle on Blacka they tried to persuade doubtful users that the main reason was to enable the cows to control bracken. This was very disingenuous if not downright misleading. Their actual motive was quite different but they used the bracken argument because they thought local people, some of whom had expressed a dislike of bracken, would be convinced. In this they were partly correct. A few people were persuaded. But the more sceptical ones, who independently looked into the research and more authoritative advice, did not accept SWT's simplistic story ...... and thereby hangs another tale.
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