Size: 37.02 acres (14.98 ha)
Near: Skipton, North Yorkshire
For almost 1,000 years, Skipton Woods in North Yorkshire have been owned by Skipton Castle, and in 1991 they were leased to the Woodland Trust for 75 years. The woods were originally managed to provide fishing and hunting, and more recently for timber, building stone and water, which means that little remains of the wild oak and ash wood that would once have stood there. Nevertheless, the site is designated ancient semi-natural woodland and is made up of broadleaves such as oak, ash, cherry and hornbeam, along with some Scots pine and Norway spruce. Green and great spotted woodpeckers can be found within the woods, along with kingfishers, herons and roe deer, and particularly exciting, red kites. Much of the ground flora is representative of ancient woodland, including dense carpets of spring-flowering wild garlic, bluebells and dog’s mercury.
Prior to the Trust’s management, only limited access was allowed, but now the site has full public access at all times and in 2007 we completed a major path upgrade. Some sections had been truly horrendous, and flights of steps were converted to slopes for easier access. A very long section of the riverbank was rebuilt to create a higher level path to replace the one washed away in 2005. Seats were installed, along with new gates suitable for wheelchair access; and the old bridge was replaced with one accessible to people of all abilities. A gift in a will was vital in helping the Trust to make these improvements and open up this ancient, beautiful wood to everyone.
Visit 'Our Woods' to find out more on this wood
