The Great Oak stood at the top of the hill. Only a stone wall, no higher than the head of an adult ram, dared approach it. The tree was called sinister and frightening by some. To others, it was heroic and spectacular. The truth was very simple: the tree was all those things, depending on how the tree felt. Many people, ramblers, hikers, and Ordnance Survey junkies had all remarked on the strange sensations they experienced when standing close to its vast trunk, and the light that streamed through its branches was the bane of many an amateur photographer. Beautiful images were spoiled by strong lights that emanated from inside the tree’s dense canopy during the hours leading up to the penumbra. Pictures were taken and then developed, only to reveal that half of the image was blurred, or a
