Under the Greenwood Tree

The sunlight streams through the leaves, lighting up the path in patterned shades, leaving the rest in shadow. As the sun rises higher, the shadows grow deeper on the light earth, providing shelter for the rich undergrowth that flourishes here. A breeze stirs, rustling the foliage, a sea of deepening shades of green, an ancient forest swaying to its own music. The air feels dense and rich, heavy with the urgent songs of birds and with memories of the life of an island.

We wander deeper and deeper into Buskett, Malta’s largest woodland area, which will soon ring with the sounds of song and merriment as another Mnarja approaches. One of Malta’s oldest and most traditional feasts, the Mnarja – the feast of St Peter and St Paul - has been celebrated here for centuries, its witnesses the ancient trees which were here long before us, their trunks now gnarled and wrinkled, their leaves deep and dense.

Originally intended as the Knights’ hunting ground, Buskett’s 19 hectares of land still echo with the memories of the life of an island. In the past, the area teemed with rabbits, deer and birds and, during the war, Buskett was extensively used to grow vegetables and fodder for the War effort. Storms which ravaged the islands leave deep scars here, war shelters can still be seen on the way to Verdala Castle, trees survive from the times of the Knights, courseways are wide enough to accommodate carriages. A hunting lodge at the side of the woodland – originally built by La Valette – is believed to have been used to rear the yearly pair of falcons which were given by the Grand Master to the Viceroy of Sicily as nominal rent for the islands. Wedding contracts often included a clause for grooms to take their brides to Buskett for the Mnarja festivities, the agricultural fair has been held here for over a century and a half and Verdala Castle itself has been used to hold French prisoners.

Nowadays Buskett is a protected Nature Reserve for the rich and diverse habitats it houses, including maquis, garigue, cliff faces, watercourses and springs. In parts overgrown and lush, in others cultivated and sprawling, in the weekend, whole families will gather for picnics, children’s voices ringing through the trees. But you can also walk deep inside, to places where you can be alone, until you are no longer sure whether you are going up a path or deep inside yourself.

This is a world with its own laws, where trees and plants hold sway, towering over structures and pathways, forming graceful avenues, watching silently as animals and insect scurry at their feet. Everything seems to grow to gigantic proportions: bees are larger, trees tower above us, a cactus seems almost as large as a hunched person, with its dramatic thorns. Even the roads skirt the oodland, as if respecting the trees’ prior claim to the land. At its end, Verdala Castle – nowadays the President’s summer residence - stands as a fixed point of reference, coming in and out of view, through the trees and leaves, a castle overlooking its forest.

Finally, after walking through smooth paths and rocky trails, we suddenly break out of the foliage, emerging onto the glaring sunlight on the road. Behind us, the trees stand, towering and graceful, silent and swaying, guardians to the ancient woodland and the rich life it protects.

Buskett is a protected Nature Reserve. While on your walk, please treat the countryside with respect and stick to paths where possible.

Based on info from Archipelago, published by Nature Trust Malta and from The Public Gardens and Groves of the Maltese islands – A Visitor’s Guide Book, Joseph Borg, fourth edition, Colour Image Publication.