Bisham Woods

Last updated
Bisham Woods
Site of Special Scientific Interest
Bluebells (34146232732).jpg
Berkshire UK location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Location within Berkshire
Location Berkshire
Grid reference SU 857 849 [1]
Coordinates 51°33′27″N0°46′00″W / 51.5574°N 0.7666°W / 51.5574; -0.7666
InterestBiological
Area86.0 hectares (213 acres) [1]
Notification 1984 [1]
Location map Magic Map

Bisham Woods is an 86-hectare (210-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) west of Cookham in Berkshire. [1] [2] The site is also a Local Nature Reserve [3] [4] and part of Chilterns Beechwoods Special Area of Conservation. [5] The SSSI is part of a 153.2-hectare (379-acre) site, also called Bisham Woods, which has been owned and managed by the Woodland Trust since 1990. [6]

Contents

The woods [7] consist of several sections. The northern part is the ancient woodland SSSI, with compartments known as Quarry Wood, Fultness Wood, High Wood and Inkydown Wood. With the River Thames just to the north, and views across the Chiltern Hills, they include beechwoods, with rare woodland orchids. [8] The remaining compartments, including Park Wood, High Wood, Goulding's Wood, Carpenters Wood and Dungrovehill Wood, are areas of 19th- and 20th-century planting noted for bluebells. [9] [10] These are nearer Maidenhead, near the A308 and A404. The woods are open to the public, and are well served with paths and bridleways, with parking nearby. [11]

Quarry Wood is the site of Bisham Quarry, an important medieval source of stone, much of which was used to build Windsor Castle. From medieval times the woods were part of the extensive Bisham Estates of the Earls of Salisbury. [12] An ice house, built in the 1760s to provide ice for Bisham Abbey, is within the woods, and opened to the public four times a year. [6] The woods are the original 'Wild Wood' in Kenneth Grahame's 1908 children's book The Wind in the Willows , which he wrote in the nearby village of Cookham Dean. [13] Percy Bysshe Shelley composed The Revolt of Islam in the area of Bisham Woods in 1817 when he was living at Marlow. [14]

A memorial in Carpenters Wood commemorates the crash site of a Halifax Bomber from the Royal Air Force 578 Squadron, on 18 July 1944. The memorial was dedicated on 18 July 1998. [15]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust</span> Wildlife conservation charity

The Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust (BBOWT), is a wildlife trust covering the counties of Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire in England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hartslock</span> Wood and nature reserve in Oxfordshire, UK

Hartslock, also known as Hartslock Woods, is a 41.8-hectare (103-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in a wooded area on the north bank of the River Thames to the south-east of Goring-on-Thames in the English county of Oxfordshire. An area of 29.4 hectares is a Special Area of Conservation and an area of 10 hectares is a nature reserve owned and managed by the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust (BBOWT). The site is well known for the variety of wild orchids that grow on its sloping grassland, and especially for the monkey orchid that grows in very few other places in England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bowdown and Chamberhouse Woods</span>

Bowdown and Chamberhouse Woods is a 67.9-hectare (168-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest south of Thatcham in Berkshire. An area of 55 hectares is a nature reserve managed by the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sulham and Tidmarsh Woods and Meadows</span>

Sulham and Tidmarsh Woods and Meadows is a 75.7-hectare (187-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest west of Reading in Berkshire. Previously known as Pang Valley SSSI, the site is mostly sandwiched between the River Pang and the Sulham Road and includes Broom Copse, Herridge's Copse, Hogmoor Copse, Park Wood, Moor Copse and Barton's Copse. Much of the southern part of the site is the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust's Moor Copse Nature Reserve. The whole site lies within the North Wessex Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sandhurst to Owlsmoor Bogs and Heaths</span>

Sandhurst to Owlsmoor Bogs and Heaths is an 85.8-hectare (212-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) on the northern outskirts of Sandhurst in Berkshire. Part of the SSSI is Wildmoor Heath nature reserve, which is managed by the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust. and the SSSI is part of Thames Basin Heaths Special Protection Area.

Lower Wye Gorge is a 65-hectare (160-acre) biological and geological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Gloucestershire, notified in 1954 and renotified 1987. The site includes two Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust nature reserves being Ban-y-gor Wood and Lancaut. The Natural England citation states a revision for Lancaut inclusion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hobbs Quarry SSSI, Longhope</span> Site of Special Scientific Interest in Gloucestershire

Hobbs Quarry, Longhope is a 1-hectare (2.5-acre) geological and biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Gloucestershire, England, notified in 1966. It is situated midway between Longhope and Dursley Cross in the Forest of Dean. Adjacent woods are Kiln Wood and Coleman's Wood. The site is managed by the Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bull Cross, The Frith and Juniper Hill</span> Site of Special Scientific Interest in Gloucestershire, England

Bull Cross, The Frith and Juniper Hill is a 42.33-hectare (104.6-acre) biological and geological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Gloucestershire, notified in 1954. The site is listed in the ‘Stroud District’ Local Plan, adopted November 2005, Appendix 6 as an SSSI and Regionally Important Geological Site (RIGS).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cotswold Commons and Beechwoods</span> Biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Gloucestershire, England

Cotswold Commons and Beechwoods is a 665.5-hectare (1,644-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Gloucestershire, notified in 1954.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hollowhill and Pullingshill Woods</span>

Hollowhill and Pullingshill Woods is a 23-hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest near Marlow in Buckinghamshire. It is in the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and the Chilterns Beechwoods Special Area of Conservation. The local planning authorities are Wycombe District Council and Buckinghamshire County Council. Pullingshill Wood is owned by the Woodland Trust, and Hollowhill Wood was formerly owned by Buckinghamshire County Council, but was transferred to the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust. Since November 2015 the 7.8-hectare site has been managed by the Trust as "Hog and Hollowhill Woods".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aston Clinton Ragpits</span>

Aston Clinton Ragpits is a 2.9-hectare (7.2-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Aston Clinton in Buckinghamshire. It is a former chalk quarry, which is now a nature reserve managed by the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust. It is in the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dancersend</span>

Dancersend is an 81.3-hectare (201-acre) Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) south of Aston Clinton in Buckinghamshire. Part of the site is managed by the Forestry Commission and part by the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust (BBOWT). The BBOWT's 47 hectare nature reserve, called Dancersend with Pavis Woods, extends into fields west of the SSSI. It is in the Chilterns Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aston Rowant Woods</span>

Aston Rowant Woods is a 209.7-hectare (518-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest near Aston Rowant in Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire. Part of it is in Aston Rowant National Nature Reserve, and a large part is in the Chiltern Beechwoods Special Area of Conservation. The site is also in the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rushbeds Wood</span> Nature reserve in Ireland

Rushbeds Wood is a 56-hectare (140-acre) nature reserve near Wotton Underwood in Buckinghamshire, managed by the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust (BBOWT). It is a surviving fragment of the ancient Bernwood Forest. The reserve is part of Rushbeds Wood and Railway Cutting, an 80.2-hectare (198-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest. This includes a section of the Chiltern Main Line railway cutting, which runs along the north-east side of the BBOWT reserve.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Designated Sites View: Bisham Woods". Sites of Special Scientific Interest. Natural England. Retrieved 16 October 2019.
  2. ↑ "Map of Bisham Woods". Sites of Special Scientific Interest. Natural England. Retrieved 16 October 2019.
  3. ↑ "Bisham Woods". Local Nature Reserves. Natural England. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04.
  4. ↑ "Map of Bisham Woods". Local Nature Reserves. Natural England.
  5. ↑ "Designated Sites View: Chilterns Beechwoods". Special Areas of Conservation. Natural England. Retrieved 16 October 2019.
  6. 1 2 Woodland Trust Management Plan 2009-2014
  7. ↑ 'Welcome to Bisham Woods.' Information board within the woods
  8. ↑ Wild About Britain Archived December 2, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
  9. ↑ "Magic Map Application". Magic.defra.gov.uk. Retrieved 2017-05-01.
  10. ↑ "Natural England - Special Sites". Lnr.naturalengland.org.uk. Retrieved 2017-05-01.
  11. ↑ Woodland Trust, 'About this wood'
  12. ↑ David Nash Ford's Royal Berkshire History - Bisham accessed 16 October 2011
  13. ↑ The National Trust. "The Short Wind in the Willows Walk". The Short Wind in the Willows Walk. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  14. ↑ The Literature Network The Revolt of Islam
  15. ↑ RAF Commands Forum
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.