April Project 🌿🌳 Chopwell Woods NE England Chopwell wood is the largest woodland in Tyne and Wear, with a number of waymarked walks of varying degrees of difficulty. On this route you'll get to see the history of the area, which dates back as far as the 12th century. Chopwell oaks were used at the castles of Norham, Bamburgh and Dunstanburgh and were used by the Navy to build boats such as The Royal Sovereign in 1634. It’s now a community woodland with Woodland Park status and is designated as a Plantation on an Ancient Woodland Site (PAWS). The Wood and has been managed by the Forestry Commission since the 1920s. There are interesting signs of long gone industrial heritage in the area, including coal mines and paper mills which produced some of the finest paper in England due to the clear waters of the River Derwent There are still lots of signs of an ancient woodland site, such as the huge beech trees and the wildflower population. The wood anemone is present in large swathes in the spring the which is known as an indicator species of ancient woodlands, it could be a sign that you are stood in an irreplaceable habitat, an ancient woodland that has been continuously covered since the 1600s in England. They are a very slow-spreading species, which only extend six feet per hundred years, hence being an indicator of ancient woodland – they rely on the growth of their root structure rather than the spread of its seed. So my project for April has been doing a wee bit of research about the woods literally out my back door, appreciating them for the wildlife, the history and the utility.

Posted by alyson.rafferty - Buglife at 2025-05-01 07:00:59 UTC