About this wood
Bunkers Hill Wood lies just half a mile west of the town of Stourbridge on the outskirts of Birmingham. The wood has a gentle westerly aspect and contains a wonderful mix of predominantly secondary plantation trees with mature and veteran broadleaves and conifers including Sweet Chestnut, Oak, Scots Pine and Corsican Pine. These are contrasted by younger stands of broadleaves and conifers and areas of naturally regenerated Birch.
The site, which was formerly part of Iverley Heath, was originally planted around 1860 with subsequent replanting as recently as 20 to 25 years ago. The majority of the wood is set amidst pasture land, although some rotation management including that of arable crops to the east of the site has taken place periodically.
The wood has a history of management for shooting purposes, which has given rise to the wonderful range of rides and paths which now criss- cross the site, as well as a number of large open 'glades' of bracken and grassland which provide a haven for many interesting, plants, flowers and butterflies. This extensive network of permissive rides and paths provide the ideal means for which to explore the wood and enjoy the excellent views of the countryside such as Kinver Edge to the west, and Stourbridge and Birmingham to the East.
In addition to the permissive paths at the site, two public footpaths also cross the wood. The first of these enters the site through a less-able kissing gate, to the west of the main entrance point for both public and management access purposes off Whittington Hall Lane (north-east corner of the site), and runs parallel to the sites western boundary, just short of halfway down its total length. At this point, it meets a further the other public footpath which enters the site (through a stile with dog access gate) from the fields adjacent to the west and bisects the wood in east-west direction, leaving the site through the eastern boundary entrance (less-able kissing gate) which leads onto Sugar Loaf Lane.
There is a further public access point (stile) in the south-western most corner of the site, following agreement between the Woodland Trust/Ramblers Association and Severn Trent Water (who own the land adjacent). This access point was the result of the extension/diversion of an existing Public Footpath which previously fell short but now links to the wood’s boundary and the wider permissive/public footpath network. The sites sandy soil type and surface conditions means that a number of the flatter rides are dry and smooth enough to facilitate access by wheelchairs and pushchairs.