A beautiful ancient woodland which is carpeted with bluebells in the spring
Short Wood is a fragment of Rockingham Forest, a medieval hunting forest. The wood includes areas of elm coppice and hazel coppice with large oak, ash and field maple trees. In spring a carpet of bluebells and dog's mercury covers much of the wood. Primrose, wood speedwell and wood melick are also abundant.
Much of the ancient woodland at Southwick Wood was replanted to replace elm trees felled in the late 1960s due to Dutch Elm Disease. It now contains a mix of oak, ash, field maple and hazel. The developing woodland provides cover for a range of visting bird species including willow warbler, woodcock and tawny owl.
Butterflies are abundant - look out for speckled wood, gatekeeper and comma in the sun-drenched glades.
Alongside Short Wood is an area now called 'Dodhaws Wood' named after the ancient woodland that once existed here. This area was arable land when purchased by the Wildlife Trust in 2007. Now a grassy expanse studded with young trees brought here by the wind and birds, it will change over time to become a rich wildlife haven as it slowly develops into a woodland.
Short Wood reserve map
Southwick Woods reserve map
Species and habitats
- Badger, Red Fox, Buzzard, Coal Tit, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Green Woodpecker, Red Kite, Tawny Owl, Willow Warbler, Woodcock, Comma, Gatekeeper, Purple Hairstreak, Speckled Wood, Bluebell, Broad-leaved Helleborine, Common Spotted orchid, Dog's Mercury, Early Purple Orchid, Meadowsweet, Primrose, Ragged-Robin, Spindle, Twayblade, Wayfaring-tree, Wild Service tree, Wood Melick
Nearby nature reserves
Nature reserve map
Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right 2012