Foxley Wood

Foxley Wood is a nature reserve in Foxley, Norfolk, England, the largest ancient woodland and coppice in Norfolk. The Norfolk Wildlife Trust, which manages this reserve, bought it in 1998.[1] It is 123 hectares (300 acres) in size.[2][3] It is a Site of Special Scientific Interest,[4][5] a Nature Conservation Review site, Grade 2,[6] and a National Nature Reserve.[7]

This article is about the nature reserve in Norfolk. For the nature reserve in London, see Foxley Wood, Purley.
Woodland Pathway at Foxley Wood

Location and history

Foxley Wood is 25 kilometres (16 mi) north-west of Norwich, 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) away from the Fakenham road (the A1067), near Honeypot Wood.[3][8][9]

The nature reserve is currently the largest ancient woodland and coppice in Norfolk. The woodland is recorded in Domesday Book and parts of it are known to be over 6,000 years old.[1] For the past 1,000 years, it was a source of wood (including hazel), but demand decreased in the 20th century.[1][8] Because of the drop in demand, Foxley Wood became neglected. In the 1990s it was privately owned and managed by the Forestry Commission,[10] and was acquired by the Norfolk Wildlife Trust in 1998.[9]

It is open to the public every day except Thursday.[3]

Hyacinthoides non-scripta (common bluebell)

Flora and fauna

The woodland is rich in flora with over 250 species recorded. These include herb paris, early purple orchid, lily of the valley, common bluebell, dog's mercury, purple hairstreak, meadowsweet, water avens, fleabane (common name for flowering plants in family Asteraceae) and meadow brown.[3] Bluebells are among the main attractions for visitors in spring.[9]

Trees growing in the reserve include oak (found in the centre of the wood on sandy ground[6] Conifers were planted throughout as timber,[8] disturbing the original distribution of stand types;[10] they are being removed.[8] Areas have been indiscriminately sprayed with herbicides in the past.[10]

Fauna include insects such as dark bush-crickets, white admiral and ringlet butterflies, and bird species such as sparrowhawks, tawny owls, great spotted woodpeckers and European green woodpeckers. Songbirds and sparrowhawks are popular sights.[11]

Besides conifer planting, spraying with herbicides, and the cutting of all saleable trees (before the Forestry Commission began managing the wood), the wood is damaged by roads and ditches resulting from timber exploitation: "Foxley Wood has been badly damaged by modern forestry."[10]

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References
  1. "Foxley Wood". UK Attraction - East of England. 18 July 2002. Retrieved 23 May 2012.
  2. "Reserves Map". Norfolk Wildlife Trust. Archived from the original on 14 June 2012. Retrieved 23 May 2012.
  3. "Foxley Wood". Norfolk Wildlife Trust. Retrieved 23 May 2012.
  4. "Designated Sites View: Foxley Wood". Sites of Special Scientific Interest. Natural England. Retrieved 11 June 2018.
  5. "Map of Foxley Wood". Sites of Special Scientific Interest. Natural England. Retrieved 11 June 2018.
  6. Ratcliffe, Derek, ed. (1977). A Nature Conservation Review. 2. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. p. 59. ISBN 0521 21403 3.
  7. "Designated Sites View: Foxley Wood". National Nature Reserves. Natural England. Retrieved 5 June 2018.
  8. Holly Hughes; Julie Duchaine (2011). Frommer's 500 Places to See Before They Disappear. John Wiley & Sons. pp. 170–. ISBN 978-1-118-04600-5. Retrieved 8 June 2012.
  9. Laurence Mitchell. Slow Norfolk & Suffolk. Bradt Travel Guides. p. 91.
  10. Peterken, George Frederick (1993-09-30). Woodland Conservation and Management. Springer. pp. 238–39. ISBN 9780412557309. Retrieved 13 June 2012.
  11. Barkham, Patrick (2 May 2012). "Bird Song Dawn Chorus". The Guardian. Retrieved 8 June 2012.

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