West Wood
80ac/32ha
Grid ref: TQ 805 880
Updated 31/12/2023.
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West Wood has been managed as coppice woodland for at least two hundred years, except that a large area of the northern part was clear felled in the 1930s, removing the standards as well as the coppice. Here the trees are oak, hornbeam, sweet chestnut and birch, with bracken and some heather beneath.
In the south of the wood there are many large oaks, with hornbeam in the wetter parts, and quite a few rowan and wild service trees.
The canalised Prittle Brook flows through from west to east, bordered by sallow, birch and ash, a pond or two and some wetland vegetation.
Visiting
Access from Rayleigh Road (A129). You can also walk in from Daws Heath Road via Valerie Wells Wood. SatNav: SS7 3YB.
Frequent bus services along Rayleigh Road.
Accessible at all times.
April to June for spring flowers and woodland birdsong.
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