Sometimes the guardian is mystical, like an angel or a spirit. Sometimes it is real-world, like a prominent hill, mountain, large boulder, a giant tree, an animal or sometimes a human being. Whatever form it takes, the guardian protects and lives by their forest, river or land, dedicating their life to its future well-being. In old English lore, the first inhabitants of Britain, or Albion as it was known then, were giants who could turn into trees. chief among them were Gog and Magog, the guardians of all forests. To this day, Gog and Magog are celebrated as the 'Guardians of London'. The tradition inspired J.R.R Tolkein characters of the 'ents'. Tolkien took the word 'ent' from the Old English 'eoten' meaning 'giant'. Thus, the oldest character in Tolkien's saga is Treebeard, the ent, also known as the Guardian of Fangorn Forest. The image above is a rare photograph of the Gog and Magog oak giants of Glastonbury, taken by Walter Tully in 1903.