This list of ancient woods in England contains areas of
ancient woodland in
England larger than 10 hectares (25 acres). The list is arranged alphabetically by
ceremonial county.
The woodlands of Bedfordshire cover 6.2% of the county.[1] Some two thirds of this (4,990 ha or 12,300 acres) is broad-leaved woodland, principally oak and ash.[2] A woodland Trust estimate of all ancient woodland in Bedfordshire (dating back to at least the year 1600), including woods of 0.1 ha (0.25 acres) and upward suggests an area of 1,468 ha (3,630 acres).[3] This list of Bedfordshire's ancient woodland shows only those woods of over 10 ha (25 acres), all of which have
SSSI status, and cover a total of 628 ha (1,550 acres). Of the eight woods shown, five fall roughly on the line of heavily wooded sandstone that runs diagonally across the county south of Bedford.[4]
Berkshire has woodland covering 18,304 ha (45,230 acres), which is 14.5% of its land area.[20] The woodlands listed below are all ancient woods of 10 ha (25 acres) or more, and these cover some 2,403 ha (5,940 acres). A major proportion of the area is the area of woodland along the Surrey and Buckinghamshire borders. This is
Windsor Great Park and Forest, and as well as the woodland area listed here, it has vast tracts of heath and parkland.[21] Also in the east of the county are woodlands on the southern end of the
Chiltern Hills. The great majority of the woods listed are in
West Berkshire and follow the line of the chalk hills across the county.[22]
There is only one sizeable area of Ancient Woodland within Bristol. The
Avon Gorge SSSI is partly within the city boundary,[42] but the woodland is mainly in Somerset, so is covered under that county.
Buckinghamshire
Druids Oak, the oldest tree in Burnham BeechesEntrance to Bernwood Forest
9.4% of the land area of Buckinghamshire is Woodland.[43]
The ancient woods listed here are those over 10 ha (25 acres). With one exception, these are all SSSIs.[44] The woods are distributed very unevenly. Large areas of the fenland in the north-eastern side of the county have none. There are significant numbers in the south, toward Suffolk. More of the woods are found in the western half of the county, with three near Peterborough.
Cheshire has some 4% of its area under woodland - around half the national average.[78] Since 1994 the Mersey Community Forest has been promoting new woodland planting within the Merseyside and Cheshire region to alleviate this deficit, and also better manage the existing woodland to secure its future.[79] Cheshire has less ancient woodland, and in smaller units than most counties. Many of the ancient woodlands survive in steep valleys or cloughs, of small extent.[80] Taylor's Rough, Wellmeadow Wood, Warburton's Wood And Well Wood are examples of clough woodland too small for inclusion in this list. Most of the ancient woodland in the county is in units smaller than 10 ha (25 acres) and 65% of the area is in woods smaller than 5 ha (12 acres).[81] The list below is of ancient woodland larger than 10 ha (25 acres).
No Ancient Woodland remains in the City of London although the
City of London Corporation are directly responsible for large areas of woodland elsewhere, notably
Epping Forest (Essex),
Highgate Wood (Greater London) and
Burnham Beeches (Bucks)
Cornwall
Old oak wood near Goodern Manor Farm, Cornwall
The county of Cornwall has woodland representing 7.5% of the Land Area.[82]
In 2012 the Isle of Wight Biodiversity Partnership commissioned a revised Ancient Woodland Inventory for the island, and this was completed in 2014. This has a list of all identified ancient woodland sites on the Isle of Wight.[152]
Bluebells in the Outwoods, Charnwood Forest, Leicestershire
It is estimated that 2% of Leicestershire's land area is ancient woodland, of which half has been replaced by new plantings in recent times.[178] There are over 100 woods in Leicestershire believed to be ancient.[179] The sites listed below are those over 10 ha (25 acres) in size, and with one exception, all have SSSI status.[180] With one group of woods near
Hinckley, in the south-west, the remainder fall into three broad areas. In East Leicestershire, close to the border with Rutland, are the woods near Leighfield Forest, an extensive
Royal Forest which straddled the two counties.[181] North west of Leicester are the woods of
Charnwood Forest. Further west are the woods of the coal measures toward the border with Derbyshire.
A Panoramic in the north-east of Bucknell Wood, part of Whittlewood Forest
The ancient woods of Northants are concentrated towards the south and west of the county, to that region bordering Bucks, Oxford and Beds. Many are managed by the
Forestry Commission, although others are in private hands. They tend to occur on
limestone soils in elevated country, and exhibit a diversity of habitats.
The ancient woods of Oxfordshire are concentrated in three distinct areas. In the south are woods of the
Chiltern Hills. A second cluster lies to the east of
Oxford. The
Cotswolds woods on the western side of the county include those in the Royal Forest of
Wychwood. Oxfordshire has nearly 18,000 ha (44,000 acres) of woodland in total (6.9% of its area), two-thirds of which are in woods of over 10 ha (25 acres). 1,839 ha (4,540 acres) of woodland is represented in the 17 ancient woods listed below. Some 6,000 ha (15,000 acres) of woodland is split among the 3,390 woods smaller than 10 ha.[224] Many of these smaller woods may be ancient, but are not covered by this list. The list here covers woods of over 10 ha with
SSSI status.[225]
^"King's Wood and Rammamere Heath". The Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Northamptonshire and Peterborough. 2006. Archived from the original on 26 May 2011. Retrieved 11 July 2011.{{
cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (
link)
^"Buff Wood". The Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Northamptonshire and Peterborough. Archived from the original on 26 May 2011. Retrieved 28 March 2011.{{
cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (
link)
^Woodward, S. F. (1992). Swithland Wood : a study of its history and vegetation. Leicestershire Museums, Arts and Records Service.
ISBN0-85022-303-2.
OCLC60086515.
^"Whittle Dene". Northumberland Wildlife Trust. Archived from the original on 22 February 2020. Retrieved 22 February 2020.{{
cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (
link)
^"11: Landscape and Visual"(PDF). High Speed Rail (Crewe to Manchester and West Midlands to Leeds) Working Draft Environmental Statement. Vol. 2: Community Area report LA13: Ravenfield to Clayton. HS2. 190 paragraph 11.3.4. Retrieved 22 February 2020.
^"Cannock Chase"(PDF). Natural England. Retrieved 22 February 2020.
This list of ancient woods in England contains areas of
ancient woodland in
England larger than 10 hectares (25 acres). The list is arranged alphabetically by
ceremonial county.
The woodlands of Bedfordshire cover 6.2% of the county.[1] Some two thirds of this (4,990 ha or 12,300 acres) is broad-leaved woodland, principally oak and ash.[2] A woodland Trust estimate of all ancient woodland in Bedfordshire (dating back to at least the year 1600), including woods of 0.1 ha (0.25 acres) and upward suggests an area of 1,468 ha (3,630 acres).[3] This list of Bedfordshire's ancient woodland shows only those woods of over 10 ha (25 acres), all of which have
SSSI status, and cover a total of 628 ha (1,550 acres). Of the eight woods shown, five fall roughly on the line of heavily wooded sandstone that runs diagonally across the county south of Bedford.[4]
Berkshire has woodland covering 18,304 ha (45,230 acres), which is 14.5% of its land area.[20] The woodlands listed below are all ancient woods of 10 ha (25 acres) or more, and these cover some 2,403 ha (5,940 acres). A major proportion of the area is the area of woodland along the Surrey and Buckinghamshire borders. This is
Windsor Great Park and Forest, and as well as the woodland area listed here, it has vast tracts of heath and parkland.[21] Also in the east of the county are woodlands on the southern end of the
Chiltern Hills. The great majority of the woods listed are in
West Berkshire and follow the line of the chalk hills across the county.[22]
There is only one sizeable area of Ancient Woodland within Bristol. The
Avon Gorge SSSI is partly within the city boundary,[42] but the woodland is mainly in Somerset, so is covered under that county.
Buckinghamshire
Druids Oak, the oldest tree in Burnham BeechesEntrance to Bernwood Forest
9.4% of the land area of Buckinghamshire is Woodland.[43]
The ancient woods listed here are those over 10 ha (25 acres). With one exception, these are all SSSIs.[44] The woods are distributed very unevenly. Large areas of the fenland in the north-eastern side of the county have none. There are significant numbers in the south, toward Suffolk. More of the woods are found in the western half of the county, with three near Peterborough.
Cheshire has some 4% of its area under woodland - around half the national average.[78] Since 1994 the Mersey Community Forest has been promoting new woodland planting within the Merseyside and Cheshire region to alleviate this deficit, and also better manage the existing woodland to secure its future.[79] Cheshire has less ancient woodland, and in smaller units than most counties. Many of the ancient woodlands survive in steep valleys or cloughs, of small extent.[80] Taylor's Rough, Wellmeadow Wood, Warburton's Wood And Well Wood are examples of clough woodland too small for inclusion in this list. Most of the ancient woodland in the county is in units smaller than 10 ha (25 acres) and 65% of the area is in woods smaller than 5 ha (12 acres).[81] The list below is of ancient woodland larger than 10 ha (25 acres).
No Ancient Woodland remains in the City of London although the
City of London Corporation are directly responsible for large areas of woodland elsewhere, notably
Epping Forest (Essex),
Highgate Wood (Greater London) and
Burnham Beeches (Bucks)
Cornwall
Old oak wood near Goodern Manor Farm, Cornwall
The county of Cornwall has woodland representing 7.5% of the Land Area.[82]
In 2012 the Isle of Wight Biodiversity Partnership commissioned a revised Ancient Woodland Inventory for the island, and this was completed in 2014. This has a list of all identified ancient woodland sites on the Isle of Wight.[152]
Bluebells in the Outwoods, Charnwood Forest, Leicestershire
It is estimated that 2% of Leicestershire's land area is ancient woodland, of which half has been replaced by new plantings in recent times.[178] There are over 100 woods in Leicestershire believed to be ancient.[179] The sites listed below are those over 10 ha (25 acres) in size, and with one exception, all have SSSI status.[180] With one group of woods near
Hinckley, in the south-west, the remainder fall into three broad areas. In East Leicestershire, close to the border with Rutland, are the woods near Leighfield Forest, an extensive
Royal Forest which straddled the two counties.[181] North west of Leicester are the woods of
Charnwood Forest. Further west are the woods of the coal measures toward the border with Derbyshire.
A Panoramic in the north-east of Bucknell Wood, part of Whittlewood Forest
The ancient woods of Northants are concentrated towards the south and west of the county, to that region bordering Bucks, Oxford and Beds. Many are managed by the
Forestry Commission, although others are in private hands. They tend to occur on
limestone soils in elevated country, and exhibit a diversity of habitats.
The ancient woods of Oxfordshire are concentrated in three distinct areas. In the south are woods of the
Chiltern Hills. A second cluster lies to the east of
Oxford. The
Cotswolds woods on the western side of the county include those in the Royal Forest of
Wychwood. Oxfordshire has nearly 18,000 ha (44,000 acres) of woodland in total (6.9% of its area), two-thirds of which are in woods of over 10 ha (25 acres). 1,839 ha (4,540 acres) of woodland is represented in the 17 ancient woods listed below. Some 6,000 ha (15,000 acres) of woodland is split among the 3,390 woods smaller than 10 ha.[224] Many of these smaller woods may be ancient, but are not covered by this list. The list here covers woods of over 10 ha with
SSSI status.[225]
^"King's Wood and Rammamere Heath". The Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Northamptonshire and Peterborough. 2006. Archived from the original on 26 May 2011. Retrieved 11 July 2011.{{
cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (
link)
^"Buff Wood". The Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Northamptonshire and Peterborough. Archived from the original on 26 May 2011. Retrieved 28 March 2011.{{
cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (
link)
^Woodward, S. F. (1992). Swithland Wood : a study of its history and vegetation. Leicestershire Museums, Arts and Records Service.
ISBN0-85022-303-2.
OCLC60086515.
^"Whittle Dene". Northumberland Wildlife Trust. Archived from the original on 22 February 2020. Retrieved 22 February 2020.{{
cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (
link)
^"11: Landscape and Visual"(PDF). High Speed Rail (Crewe to Manchester and West Midlands to Leeds) Working Draft Environmental Statement. Vol. 2: Community Area report LA13: Ravenfield to Clayton. HS2. 190 paragraph 11.3.4. Retrieved 22 February 2020.
^"Cannock Chase"(PDF). Natural England. Retrieved 22 February 2020.