Wooded Wonders

Woodlands in Leicestershire and Rutland are a much loved asset which are enjoyed by many. Woodland is one of the most easy to recognise habitats,and many people believe that Britain is well wooded. In actual fact, compared to our woodland cover 5000 years ago, Britain has little. People have been removing woodland trees for thousands of years, and there is not a woodland in Britain that remains totally natural.

What are Woodlands?

Woodland is land where trees are quite densely grouped and cover a considerable area. This differs from parkland, where trees are far enough apart to develop spreading crowns.

Ancient woodland is a name given to woods that were around before the year 1600. These can be found using historical maps, which show us the position of woods before 1600, or from features on the ground such as wood banks.

For more information download the Wooded Wonders booklet (pdf document, 727kb) and the Wooded Wonders survey form (pdf document, 463kb