an unusual oak tree - Chobham Common is a wonderful heathland near me.

In England, commons are, historically, pieces of land that were made available for the humble peasant to grow a few crops or perhaps a home for an animal or two.

Today, these are recreational areas and rich in wildlife. If part of a common is needed for something else (a motorway was built across some of this particular common), the authorities usually find a similar and adjoining/nearby piece of land to become common land to preserve the size of land put aside for this purpose.