The living inspiration for Jill Barklem’s Crabapple Cottage tree in the Brambly Hedge books has been discovered in Epping Forest. The distinctive crabapple tree is thought to be over 300 years old and stands in an area known to be a favourite walking and sketching spot for the author and illustrator. The shape, setting, and surrounding woodland match Jill’s original research sketches and photos used as inspiration for her illustrations.
In the Brambly Hedge books, the tree is home to Mrs and Mrs Apple, and features prominently in Spring Story, where Jill uses her distinctive cross-section illustration style to capture the interior of the tree in minute detail and the exterior in full blossom.
The crabapple is believed to be the only known pollarded tree of its species in the Forest, it stands near Barn Hoppitt and Warren Pond and is close to the City of London Corporation’s Epping Forest Visitor Centre at Chingford, where a small Brambly Hedge exhibit is on display until September 2026.
The discovery builds on the growing celebration of the books’ connection to Epping Forest and the surrounding landscape. The inspiration for the Hornbeam Tree, home of the Toadflax family, was also discovered in Epping Forest in 2023. Sculptures of the inhabitants of Crabapple Cottage – Mr and Mrs Apple – can be found near the start of the Brambly Hedge Trail, which was launched in October 2025. The Trail features 17 carved oak sculptures within the forest.