Little Book of Shropshire Campaign
A Right Royal Rumble
The Boscobel Oak, in Shropshire, is one one of very few trees in the realm in which a King has slept. Charles II was the royal snoozer in question. He slept in the said oak to avoid capture by Cromwell's bloodthirsty hordes. On his return to the throne, Charles famously had a fling with that buxom purveyer of oranges, Nell Gwynne.
This Nell, however, should not be confused with Little Nell, the character created by another Charles - Dickens. Curiously, the real Little Nell is buried not far from Boscobel, in the Shropshire village of Tong, while another Dickensian character - Ebeneezer Scrooge - can be found buried in Shrewsbury.
This was the home of Charles Darwin who proposed that we are all descended from monkeys, a species renowned for their tree-climbing abilities. Perhaps he drew a little inspiration from the frankly wanton behaviour that occurs every May in Aston-on-Clun, when the Abor Tree - confusingly a black poplar - is dressed and much merriment ensues. The occassion? Royal Oak Day, of course, in honour of Charles II.
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