In the United Kingdom, an ancient woodland is a woodland that has existed continuously since 1600 or before in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Planting of woodland was uncommon before those dates, so a wood present in 1600 is likely to have developed naturally.
Whittlewood Forest is a former medieval hunting forest east of Silverstone in Northamptonshire in England. It is managed by the Forestry England. There are tracts of ancient woodland within it and old ditches can be found at the edges of several individual woods. The area has been the subject of extensive academic historical research. An area of 400 hectares in seven different patches has been designated a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), which is about half the size of an average English parish. It is a Nature Conservation Review site, Grade 2.
Norsey Wood is a 67.2 hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Billericay, Essex. It is also a Local Nature Reserve and a Scheduled Monument.
Hatfield Forest is a 403.2 hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Essex, three miles east of Bishop's Stortford. It is also a National Nature Reserve and a Nature Conservation Review site. It is owned and managed by the National Trust. A medieval warren in the forest is a Scheduled Monument.
East Blean Woods is a 151.4-hectare (374-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest south of Herne Bay in Kent. It is also a National Nature Reserve a Special Area of Conservation and a Nature Conservation Review site. An area of 122 hectares is managed by the Kent Wildlife Trust.
Lesnes Abbey Woods, sometimes known as Abbey Wood, is a 73 ha ancient woodland in southeast London, England. It is located near to, and named after, the ruined Lesnes Abbey in the London Borough of Bexley and gives its name to the Abbey Wood district. The woods are adjacent to Bostall Woods.
Frithy and Chadacre Woods is a 28.7 hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in the parishes of Lawshall and Shimpling in Suffolk, England.
Bradenham Woods, Park Wood and The Coppice is a 129.1 hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Bradenham in Buckinghamshire. It is in the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and it is described in A Nature Conservation Review. The site is part of the Bradenham Estate, which is owned by the National Trust. It is also designated a Special Area of Conservation. Grim's Ditch, a Scheduled Monument, runs through the site.
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".
Chalkney Wood is a 72.6 hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest south-east of Earls Colne in Essex, England. 25 hectares is owned by Essex County Council and 48 hectares by Forestry England.
Danbury Ridge Nature Reserves are a group of nature reserves totalling 101 hectares near Danbury in Essex, England. They are managed by the Essex Wildlife Trust, and most of them are in Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs). Two areas, the Backwarden and Hitchcock's Meadow, are part of Danbury Common SSSI, and Woodham Walter Common, Birch Wood, Pheasanthouse Wood, Poors Piece, Scrubs Wood, and a small area in Pheasanthouse Farm, are part of Woodham Walter Common SSSI.
Ham Home-cum-Hamgreen Woods is a 23.2 hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Kingswood near Grendon Underwood in Buckinghamshire. It is composed of two separate areas, Ham Home Wood and Hamgreen Wood, and is a small part of the formerly extensive Bernwood Forest.
Great Wood and Dodd's Grove is a 36.8 hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Leigh-on-Sea in Essex. It is also a Local Nature Reserve called Belfairs. Essex Wildlife Trust runs the Belfairs Woodland Centre and manages the site together with Southend-on-Sea City Council.
Quendon Wood is a 32.1 hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Quendon in Essex.
Bullock Wood is a 23.3 hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest on the northern outskirts of Colchester in Essex.
Bovingdon Hall Woods is a 69.4 hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest north of Braintree in Essex. It is composed of several woods, including Parkhall Wood, Bovingdon Wood, Shoulder of Mutton Wood, and Maid's Wood.
Belcher's and Broadfield Woods is a 14.4 hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest between Halstead and Braintree in Essex. It is managed by the Essex Wildlife Trust as the Brookes Nature Reserve.
Stour and Copperas Woods, Ramsey is a 77.1 hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest between Wrabness and Ramsey in Essex. It is two separate areas, Stour Wood, which is owned by the Woodland Trust and managed by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, and Copperas Wood, which is owned and managed by the Essex Wildlife Trust. It is in the Suffolk Coast and Heaths Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
Weeleyhall Wood is a 31 hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest north of Clacton-on-Sea in Essex. It is managed by the Essex Wildlife Trust.
Pishill Woods is a 42.8-hectare (106-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest north of Nettlebed in Oxfordshire.
