Forestry England have plans for West Woods, famed for the annual carpet of bluebells every May, and original home of the massive Sarsen stones that form most of Stonehenge. Their plans are for the future of West Woods, above Lockeridge and adjacent to Marlborough, and for the woods around Collingbourne. These plans are now open for public consultation – click here to visit – and will be until 07 October. Click here for more information about all of the Forest Management Plans published by Forestry England.
Forestry England state that the aim for the West Woods and Collingbourne plan is to outline how each woodland will be managed over the next 10 years to provide sustainably grown timber for the nation, promote public access for informal recreation, and improve habitats for wildlife. They see that their main aim for West Woods and Collingbourne is to gradually diversify the tree species. They believe that this will help to attract more wildlife and increase the forests’ resilience against threats, such as future climate conditions and pests and diseases.
Forest Planner at Forestry England, Abby Parravani said: “Forest plans define the long-term, beyond-our-lifetime vision for the nation’s forests and set out how we will work towards this over the next ten years. We are keen to involve the local communities who use and value these woodlands to give feedback as they will see the forests evolving over the coming decade.”
West Woods, smaller and quite different in character to nearby Savernake forest comprises primarily beech whereas Savernake is mainly oak. But an area to visit and enjoy, especially so in ‘BlueBell season’ in May every year. Also to try to spot any indents which once may have been where large sarsens were dug out for transport to Stonehenge, and also see some of the ‘stonehenge rejects’, those sarsens deemed too small to be used a few miles to the south.
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