Hayley Wood

Hayley Wood ancient woodland is a treasure trove of spring flowers, traditional management practices and archaeological clues to times past. As well as the usual flora, such as bluebell, wood anemone and dogs mercury, Hayley Wood is host to hundreds of species of fungi, and thousands of insects and birds. As you walk up Hayley Lane, the hedge on your left is at least 800 years old and in the winter groans with berries that sustain fieldfares and redwings. The fence, erected by the Wildlife Trust to protect most of the wood from the ravages of deer browsing although not in keeping with the landscape, has reversed twenty years of decline in the oxlip population for which the wood is famous. The area you first enter is young oak woodland, grown up since 1920 on a ridged arable field, then as you pass over the bank and ditch which mark the original wood boundary, you enter the ancient wood. At the end of the plots is the historical turning point for teams of heavy horses when extracting timber, now the site of an information hut where you can explore more of the history of the site. From here you can see some of the wilder parts of the wood, where coppicing is long abandoned and the undergrowth is thicker. As with all these sites please observe the Country Code, take your litter home with you, keep dogs on a lead, where dogs are allowed, and keep to marked paths to avoid disturbing wildlife.