Ancient woodland

Ancient Woods are one of the great glories of our heritage: our richest wildlife habitat; places of inordinate beauty; reservoirs of evidence for environmental change, archaeology and economic history; sources of inspiration for local culture and folklore.

An old tree in Stanley Wood, near Stroud, Gloucestershire. Credit - Keith HuggetThe issue

  • Ancient woodland is land continuously wooded since AD1600 in England and Wales or AD1750 in Scotland.
  • Areas of ancient woodland that have never been cleared or replanted are know as semi-natural ancient woodland (SNAW). This resource cannot increase and is irreplaceable.
  • Since the 1930’s almost half of ancient broadleaved woodland in England and Wales has been planted with conifers or cleared for agriculture. Only 309,000 hectares of SNAW survive in Britain – less than 20% of the total wooded area.
  • More than 8 out of 10 ancient woods in England and Wales are less than 20 hectares, only 501 exceed 100 hectares and a mere 14 are larger than 300 hectares.
  • Although some woods are designated for their scientific and conservation importance this does not guarantee protection or ensure positive management. A staggering 85 per cent of ancient woodland, including 5 of the 12 largest woods in England, has no designation at all.

What we want to see

  • No further loss of ancient woodland. We believe the time has come to say "enough is enough" and to inspire people to protect what remains.
  • A fully maintained inventory of ancient woodland, regularly updated to confirm the extent and quality of the nation’s ancient woodland.

How we will achieve this

  • We will continue to acquire ancient woods and will adopt further strategies to protect all ancient woodland.
  • We wish to see a programme established that will identify losses since the Nature Conservancy Council’s Ancient Woodland Inventory was completed and identify potential future losses.
  • We will help current owners of ancient woodland to understand its importance and to undertake sympathetic management.
  • We will lobby to improve the current legislation to protect ancient woodland. (see our Millennium Challenges for Government)