About this wood
The Spinney is level site located on the southern edge of the village of Kingston St. Mary, near Taunton, and is adjacent to a busy minor road. Surrounded by rural housing and fields, it is bounded by hedgerows, fencing, and a high stone wall by the road. An old mill leat runs along the western edge of the wood, adding further historical interest to the site.
The wood sits within the Vale of Taunton and Quantock Fringes countryside character and natural area. This is typified by a lowland mixed farming landscape, with dense hedges, some with abundant oaks, sparse woodland and frequent settlement. The Spinney fits into this. There is woodland to the north and east of Kingston St Mary however The Spinney is the only block of woodland in the immediately local area, making it valuable both visually and as a recreation resource.
During the late 1800’s, ancestors of the politician Anthony Eden owned the Grange, and created a 5-acre ornamental woodland garden containing exotic trees and shrubs surrounding an open meadow, buffered by a strip of broadleaved woodland on its western edge. When the land was give to the Trust in 1986, it included an additional two acre field to the south which was planted with native broad-leaved trees at that time. Consequently the overall impression is of an arboretum bounded by native woodland.
There is strong community involvement at The Spinney with a group of volunteers who actively help in the maintenance of the site.
Management access is via a gateway at the southern boundary