Parklands are green spaces consisting of open grassland punctuated by mature tree copses. They are managed, and some have been for hundreds of years, largely for human recreation with many of Britain's parklands originally established as royal hunting preserves. Others formed parts of country estates, established to provide grazing land, timber production and a healthy stock of deer for hunting. Many of the oak, ash and beech trees found here are several centuries old so it's no surprise that parklands can also be important wildlife sanctuaries. Indeed, some of the UK's scarcest species are residents, from stag beetles to great crested newts.

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