Where are rainforests in the UK?
There are wild, lush forests in the west waiting to be explored.
What do you imagine when you hear the word “rainforest”? Mile after mile of towering trees in a faraway country? Hot weather, heavy rain and the kind of incredible wildlife that you’d never get to see in the UK? Maybe even news reports about the battle to save the forests from destruction by humans?
You might be surprised to hear, then, that the UK is home to a lot of its very own kind of rainforest, called temperate rainforest – and you can go and see it.
What are temperate rainforests?
Temperate rainforests are areas of very damp woodland in temperate areas. Temperate areas are places with fairly mild temperatures, in comparison to tropical climates (very hot) and polar climates (very cold). The UK is a good example of a temperate area: the weather, in general, isn’t extremely cold or hot – even though it might feel that way at times. Temperate rainforests bustle with life; there are plenty of animals (see panel below), butterflies and trees such as sessile oak, rowan, hazel and birch. The forests are so wet that you’ll even find living things growing on top of other living things, such as mosses and ferns (a type of flowerless green plant) growing out of tree trunks and branches.
What are tropical rainforests?
The rainforest you’ve probably heard about most is the tropical kind. Tropical rainforests exist close to the equator (an imaginary line around the middle of the planet) where the weather is warm all year round. The Amazon is perhaps the most famous example of a tropical rainforest. It’s the largest rainforest in the world and nearly 60% of it is in Brazil. However, temperate rainforests are rarer than tropical ones and cover just 1% of the world’s surface. Besides the UK, very few countries, including Japan, Chile and New Zealand, are blessed with this unique habitat.
Where are the UK’s rainforests?
Fragments of temperate rainforest can be found all along the west coast of England, Scotland and Wales. Here, heavy rainfall and high humidity (lots of water vapour in the air) create good conditions for them to thrive. The east of the UK, on the other hand, is drier, so you won’t find temperate rainforest there. Once upon a time there would have been far more of these leafy wonderlands in the country but, over the years, the trees were chopped down for wood and the land used for other things, such as farming. Despite that, you can still visit rainforests in places like Ausewell Wood in Devon, England, Coed Felenrhyd and Llennyrch in Snowdonia, Wales, and Crinan Wood in Argyll, Scotland. Environmental campaigner Guy Shrubsole has created a map of all of them on his Lost Rainforests of Britain website.
What does the future hold?
In February 2023, The Wildlife Trusts (a group of 46 wildlife charities) announced a £38 million project to bring rainforests back to the UK. The Government said it would provide up to £750,000 for research into protecting them. In January, the National Trust announced it will plant more than 100,000 trees in north Devon to try to create new temperate rainforests. They are special places, as Guy Shrubsole told the BBC. “A visit to one of Britain’s temperate rainforests is not one you’ll easily forget,” he said.