Size: 436.4 acres (176.61 ha)
Near: Penn Street, Buckinghamshire
In 1993, the Woodland Trust embarked on a six year campaign to save Penn Wood from becoming a golf course. Five gifts left in wills to the Trust were instrumental in raising the £1.2 million needed to secure its future. A community group, the Friends of Penn Wood was established during the campaign, and remains involved providing helpful volunteer guardians.
Penn Wood contains the largest area of ancient beech wood in the Chilterns. It is rich in wildlife and flora, including at least 10 plants not commonly found in the county. Archaeological features dot the site, among them mediaeval wood banks and hollow ways, flint and clay pits and ponds.
Slow and careful restoration, sometimes using horses for the heavy tasks, is allowing natural regeneration of beech and oak woodland from areas of non-native plantations. Much of the woodland is managed as wood pasture with a small herd of cattle grazing there during the winter months.
There is a network of easy-walking paths totalling 6 miles (10km). One of four entrances leads from the church in Penn Street village onto a path with an all-weather surface suitable for pushchairs and wheelchairs. A regular bus service stops near Mop End on the A404 at Penn Street, and less frequently, near the Squirrel public house in the village. Parking is available at Beamond End.
Visit 'Our Woods' to find out more about this wood.
