Size: 20.11 acres (8.14 ha)
Near: Keynsham, Somerset
Spreading out over 20 acres (8 hectares) on the edge of the Somerset town of Keynsham, what was once simple
farmland has now grown into a nature-rich community woodland.
The site was given to the Trust as part of a legacy in 1996 and planted as part of the Woods on your Doorstep Project. Native species such as oak, ash, wild cherry and field maple were introduced, and now, over a decade on, many are soaring to over 10 metres high.
The wood, which lies within the Forest of Avon, has been deliberately planted in a very informal way, giving
it an open and airy feel. And with no set route to follow, this is a place to wander at your leisure, following the meandering grass tracks as they take you past random thickets of trees,
with a new view at every turn.
Around the edge of the wood is a well-established hedgerow which is punctuated with veteran oaks, while central to the site is a massive two tonne sculpture of an ammonite. Legend has it that St Kenya discovered a hoard of the fossils when she was building the nearby priory.
She was allegedly also responsible for turning all the local snakes into stone but what the wood lacks in reptiles it makes up for in butterflies, with 14 species recently recorded.
Community involvement remains important at Abbots Wood
and local children have helped to plant the thousands of bluebells which make the wood such a special place to visit in the spring.
Visit Our Woods for more on Abbots Wood...
