Featured Photo: Forestry England/Crown copyright
Planned timber harvesting is set to begin at popular walking destination, West Woods, from the end of September until March 2025….
The forest will be open to visitors throughout, but Forestry England is asking walkers to help keep themselves and workers safe by following essential route diversions.
In areas of the forest where mature beech trees are growing densely, they will be thinned out. This will give the remaining trees more space to grow to their potential and allow more light onto the forest floor, which improves conditions for ground flora and the wildlife it supports. Operators will also remove ash trees which are close to access routes around the forest and showing signs of chalara ash dieback. This is a destructive disease that causes trees to become brittle, drop branches, or fall altogether so these trees will be removed for safety.
At the same time, they’ll be working to protect the Wansdyke and Long Barrow scheduled monuments in West Woods by reducing bracken, removing trees in poor condition that might cause damage, and clearing any new trees trying to grow. They work with Historic England to plan how to conserve and improve these irreplaceable monuments.
Throughout the works, Forestry England will be taking steps to protect West Woods’ famous annual display of native bluebells. Vehicle movements will be carefully managed to minimise their impact on soils and bulbs, and timber will not be stacked in areas that are important for wild flowers. All the timber felled in West Woods is certified by the Forest Stewardship Council® (FSC®) and the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC) as sustainably produced and supplies UK timber mills.
Area Manager, Nikki Morgans said, “West Woods is a working woodland producing certified sustainable timber, which is a strong, versatile, and renewable material. Many people see forests and woodlands as natural environments, but they are often working landscapes being carefully managed to benefit people, wildlife, and our economy.”
“Our work this winter is not only producing timber, it is essential to support the
future of West Woods and the features that make it so special. The forest is open
to visitors throughout the work but there will be some necessary disruption to the easy access route, and the Wansdyke path will be closed to allow us to work safely.”
Visitors can help us to re-open these routes as quickly as possible by following
safety signs and instructions. Find out more about Forestry England’s work in West Woods at Here.
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