Panorama Woods #3: Search the Birch
The cache, a small screw-capped camo-taped plastic pot, is hidden in this lovely, small and surprisingly seldom-visited woodland on the lower slopes of Rombald's Moor above western Ilkley. It is an ancient mixed deciduous woodland dominated by oak and birch trees.
To reach the cache location: a) Approaching from above: park at any convenient road-side spot on Panorama Drive along the edge of the wood taking care not to obstruct the road or residential drive-ways. Then make your way to the top of the steps @ N 53 55.148 W 1 50.375, carefully descend these past the mid-level and on down to the dirt road (Queen's Drive) at the bottom. Follow this west for a short distance then look for a small track heading back up into the woods close to the cache location.
b) Approaching from the bottom: park at the top of Hollingwood Rise @ N 53 55.255 W 1 50.521 then make your way east along Queen's Drive and locate the small trail as in a) passing close to the cache.
The silver birch (Betula pendula) is a tree species in the family Betulaceae, native to Europe and parts of Asia, though in southern Europe it is only found at higher altitudes. It was introduced into North America and is considered invasive in some US states and parts of Canada. It is planted decoratively in parks and gardens and is used for forest products
It is a striking, medium-sized deciduous tree reaching 30m tall with a slender trunk usually under 40cm diameter. Its common name comes from bark on the trunk and branches which initially golden-brown later turns to white as a result of papery tissue developing on the surface and peeling off in flakes.
It is a hardy pioneer species - one of the first trees to appear on bare or fire-swept land. Many species of birds and animals are found in birch woodland as it supports a wide range of insects and the light shade it casts allows shrubby and other plants to grow beneath its canopy. They are among the most resilient of trees, bending with the strongest of gales and flexing – but rarely breaking – with the weight of freshly fallen snow.
The bark remains smooth until the tree gets quite large, but in older trees, the bark thickens, becoming 
irregular, dark and rugged. Young branches have whitish resin warts and the twigs are slender, hairless and often pendulous.
It is monoecious, meaning both male and female flowers (catkins) are found on the same tree, in April-May. Male catkins are long and yellow-brown in colour, and hang in groups of two to four at the tips of shoots, like lambs' tails. Female catkins are smaller, short, bright green and erect.
It resembles the downy birch (Betula pubescens) and the two easily hybridise. New shoots on the silver birch are hairless and warty whereas those of downy are smooth and covered in soft hairs.
Its tolerance to pollution makes it suitable for planting in industrial areas and exposed sites. It has an open canopy which lets plenty of light to reach the ground. This allows a variety of mosses, grasses and flowering plants to grow beneath which in turn attract insects.
Flowering plants often found in birch woods include primrose (Primula vulgaris), violet (Viola riviniana), bluebell (Hyacinthoides non-scripta), wood anemone (Anemone nemorosa) and wood sorrel (Oxalis acetosella). Small shrubs that grow on the forest floor include blaeberry (Vaccinium myrtillus) and cowberry (Vaccinium vitis-idaea). Birds found in birch woodland include the chaffinch, tree pipit, willow warbler, nightingale, robin, woodcock, redpoll and green woodpecker.The larvae of a large number of species of butterflies, moths and other insects feed on the leaves and other parts of the silver birch.
It is particularly associated with specific fungi including fly agaric, woolly milk cap, birch milk cap, birch brittlegill, birch knight, chanterelle and the birch polypore (razor strop).
The branches of the silver birch often have tangled masses of twigs known as witch's brooms growing among them, caused by the fungus Taphrina betulina.
Uses: it is often planted in parks and gardens, for its white bark and gracefully drooping shoots. In Scandinavia and other regions of northern Europe, it is grown for forest products such as lumber and pulp, as well as for aesthetic purposes and ecosystem services. It is sometimes used as a pioneer and nurse tree elsewhere. It can be used to improve soil quality for other plants to grow as its deep roots bring otherwise inaccessible nutrients into the tree, which are recycled on to the soil surface when the tree sheds its leaves.
Its wood is hard, heavy, pale in colour with no distinct heartwood and is used in making furniture, plywood, veneers, parquet blocks, skis, kitchen utensils and in turnery. It was used to make hardwearing bobbins, spools and reels for the Lancashire cotton industry. It makes a good firewood that produces a good heat when burnt but is quickly consumed. Slabs of bark are used for making roof shingles and strips are used for handicrafts such as wooden footwear and small containers.
Silver birch wood is of little commercial value in Britain because the trees do not grow as large as they do in other parts of Europe.
Historically, the bark was used for tanning. Bark can be heated and the resin collected - it is an excellent waterproof glue and useful for starting fires. The thin sheets of bark that peel off young wood contain a waxy resin and are easy to ignite even when wet. The dead twigs are also useful as kindling for outdoor fires.
Birch brushwood is used for racecourse jumps and besom brooms. In the spring, large quantities of sap rise up the trunk and this can be tapped. It contains around 1% sugars and can be used in a similar way to maple syrup, being drunk fresh, concentrated by evaporation or fermented into a 'wine'. In Sweden, the bark of birch trees was ground up and used to make bark bread, a form of famine food. The removal of bark was at one time so widespread that Carl Linnaeus expressed his concern for the survival of the woodlands.
Medical Use: it is used in traditional medicine as a diuretic and is reputed to be useful in the treatment of 
high blood pressure, high cholesterol, obesity, gout, kidney stones, nephritis, cystitis, digestive disturbances and respiratory diseases! For these purposes, a decoction of the bark or leaves is generally used. Externally it is used to promote healing, relieve pain and treat inflammations and infections of the skin such as eczema and psoriasis.
The bark containers triterpenes which have anti-inflammatory, anti-viral and anti-cancer properties.
It is Finland's national tree and leafy, fragrant boughs (called vihta or vasta) are used to gently beat oneself in the Finnish sauna culture.
Various cultivars have been produced with a variety of desirable properties & characteristics. Some have gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.
Mythology and symbolism: In early Celtic mythology, the birch symbolised renewal and purification. Bundles of birch twigs were used to drive out the spirits of the old year, and gardeners still use the birch besom, or broom, to 'purify' their gardens. It is also used as a symbol of love and fertility. In Scottish Highland folklore, a barren cow herded with a birch stick would become fertile, and a pregnant cow would bear a healthy calf. See here for a comprehensive and fascinating page on the bitch and associated mythology.
See here for more info on this attractive and useful tree and here for a short video showing a year in the life of a birch.