ANCIENT WONDERS

Discover some of the most beautiful, historically fascinating ancient woods in the UK, and why it’s so important to help the Woodland Trust protect them

This country is blessed with some 1,000 ancient woods, many of which were listed in William the Conqueror’s original 1085 Domesday Book. Today, they’re free to visit, thanks to the Woodland Trust – here are just four of the most intriguing.

1. Duncliffe Wood, Dorset Age: 900+ years

This magnificent ancient woodland sits on Duncliffe Hill and can be seen from miles around. Butterflies, bats, birds and wildflowers abound – plus, moschatels, yellow archangels and early purple orchids are dotted among the old coppice stools and huge tree trunks. The

Domesday Book shows Roger de Beaumont, a powerful Norman nobleman, held ‘Stur’ – the nearby village of Stour Provost – including a tract of unnamed woodland. Later tithe maps and estate records suggest this woodland contained at least part of what is now Duncliffe Wood. The wood was valued, along with a mill and 20 acres of meadow, at £8.

2. Martinshaw Wood, Leicestershire Age: 900+ years

The vast, picturesque Martinshaw Wood is steeped in history and packed with wildlife. You could see a host of rare and interesting insects, from bees and moths to hoverflies and damselflies. Birds are also plentiful here, including woodcock and mistle thrush. This wood can be traced back to at least the 13th century, when it was part of a large deer park. It perhaps dates as far back as the Domesday Book, where it is likely one of the woods listed under the ownership of the Manor of Groby. Historical features include banks, earthen dams and a wide sunken track that appears to lead to ancient stone quarries.

3. Aversley Wood, Cambridgeshire Age: 10,000 years

This Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) boasts breathtaking views, plentiful birdlife and wild flowers. Wildlife species include the silver-washed fritillary butterfly, treecreeper and great crested newt. Much of Aversley Wood is ancient, wooded before the Middle Ages – some areas since the last Ice Age. According to the Domesday Book, it was once part of a vast woodland belt, and it’s partially surrounded by a woodbank, believed to be a medieval boundary – the present boundary dates from 1768.

4. Dering Wood, Kent Age: 1,400+ years

Dering Wood is a magnificent showcase of flora, fauna and history. You’ll discover distinctive features including well-preserved medieval woodbanks, saw pits and agricultural drainage systems. Wooded since at least the early medieval period, the area now known as Dering Wood is mentioned in the Domesday Book, as well as an Anglo Saxon charter in AD 843. According to the Kent Archaeological Society, the wood’s origins could even go back to the Jutish herdsmen around AD 500.