Dunscar Wood

Dunscar Wood is located about three miles north of Bolton Greater Manchester close to the village of Egerton. The site was acquired in 1998 and planted by the Woodland Trust in 1999. It forms part of the Red Rose Forest.

New native woodland is a key feature of the site it consists of 4.6 hectares of mixed native broadleaved planting including species such as oak ash birch cherry hazel hawthorn blackthorn and dog rose as well as 1.1 hectares of grassland. Dunscar Wood slopes down to its western and southern boundaries and affords excellent views towards Winter Hill. The planting has been designed to enhance the inherent site features such as old walls and hedgerows and to good views across the valley. The site is bounded to the south by Dunscar Industrial Estate to the west by the A666 trunk road to the east by pasture land and to the north by a housing estate.

Although the site contains no formal public rights of way the informal path network is well used by local people and informal public access is one of the sites key features. The paths consist of a mowed grass surface and can become muddy when wet. The Woodland Trust has involved local people in the design and creation of new woodland from an early stage. The site forms part of the Woodlands On Your Doorstep project (WOYD) which created 200 new community woodlands throughout England and Wales to celebrate the new millennium. Dunscar Wood also has a sundial which was chosen as the site millennium feature and designed by a local craftsperson.

The Woodland Trust aims to continue to develop further links with local people where suitable opportunities arise to help deliver this management plan.