Thursday 2 October 2014

Explore woodland in the AONB

Fonthill Woods
Now is the time to start planning a trip to a wonderful Autumnal woodland in the AONB.

One of the greatest reasons to visit woodland is to enjoy nature and wildlife, and this is one of the best times of year to make a discovery!

Visit any wood and you are likely to find a wide range of flowers, ferns, mosses, lichens and fungi, and woodlands are one of the richest and most diverse habitats for invertebrates.

The Woodland Trust website has a fantastic online resource for finding a wood near you.
You can enter a location, and set a search radius.  The map on the right was the result of a search on Tisbury - a fairly central AONB settlement. 50 woods were listed as being within 20 miles, and you can sort the results by feature, such as 'Ancient Woodland', or 'Autumn Colour'.

Using the 'Autumn Colour' filter, the following woods were selected:

Mackintosh Davidson Wood - West Knoyle

This beautiful, varied wood is a mixture of newly planted areas and ancient semi-natural woodland. Fields, rides, glades and open areas add variety and increase wildlife habitat. Nine entrances in all, mainly via stiles, and a good network of paths.
Grid ref: ST857316
OS map Sheets: Explorer 143, OS Landranger 183
Link on Woodland Trust site: http://tiny.cc/9evzmx

Tanner's Wood - Hanging Longford

This wood consists of two small blocks of broadleaf woodland, straddling a public footpath which connects the villages of Steeple Langford and Hanging Langford.
Grid ref: SU033372
OS map Sheets: Explorer 130, OS Landranger 184
Link on Woodland Trust site: http://tiny.cc/wfvzmx

Use the following link to do your own exploring, have fun!

http://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/visiting-woods/map/