Beech Wood

Beech Wood is a clough wood located to the south west of Runcorn in Cheshire. The site was a gift to the Woodland Trust from The Commission For New Towns (CNT now called English Partnerships) and was transferred as part of a package of several sites in 1991. The woodland forms part of a series of deeply incised cloughs that run into the River Weaver many of which are Ancient Semi-Natural Woodland (ASNW) This mixed broadleaf woodland consists of sycamore, rowan, horse chestnut, ash, elder, hazel and hawthorn. Ground flora includes a concentration of bluebells (which the site is locally noted for), herb robert, brambles and nettles. The land use around the site is intensively urban. The woodland lies adjacent to Wood Lane, Beechwood Avenue and the M56 motorway and is in a steeply sided valley approximately 120 m wide and 20 m deep with a southern aspect. The site boundary is partly fenced along Beechwood Avenue, Wood Lane and the boundary with the housing estate to the west. A small stream runs the length of the woodland from Beechwood Avenue to the motorway (and then on via a culvert) A 1.5 m wide, red shale footpath (with a series of wooden steps) runs through the woodland from Wood Lane across the stream via a bridge to Beechwood Avenue.