There is a lot of Beech mast along the paths, crunching underfoot to release the brown seeds. Small birds and rodents await nearby for the spoils of passage.
The nuts used to be gathered by humans. One use, particularly in France, was to press them for a culinary oil, prized as a salad dressing in the same way as walnut oil..
Nowadays the Beech is principally harvested for its wood and here, fittingly by Verdunningsdreef, it lies in horizontal stacks, awaiting removal.
Notice those S-shaped metal pieces? These are S-irons, also called S-hooks or anti-split staples. They are hammered edgeways into the cut ends of logs, across a crack, to restrain it from opening further and extending along the trunk, so preserving the value of the timber until it is processed.