Exmoor & Quantocks - Forestry England

The sun has returned just in time for National Picnic Week! Picnicking is all about celebrating nature while enjoying good food and creating lasting memories 🥪

Where is your favourite picnic spot? Tell us in the comments 👇

Please remember never to light a BBQ or fire in the forest and take you litter home 😊

Forestry works are due to begin at Wind Down and Little Great Wood at the start of July. If you are a local forest user and would like some more information then please come along with your questions to our 'Meet and Greet'. 10am on 25th June. Meet at the Wind Down car park.

Some beautiful spring flowers out at Chargot Woods today. One of our more interesting woodlands, which tells the story of the old mineral line at various points along a way marked walk. Well worth a visit.

Good news for regular users of Great Wood. Potholes are now filled 😀. Please ensure you keep to the speed limit of 15mph or slower. This will help keep the road hole-free for longer!

What a beautiful spring day at one of our Exmoor woodlands ‘Wootton Courtenay’, standing on Wootton ridge looking towards Minehead.

The one way loop in Great Wood will be temporarily closed this week and next week (first two weeks in June) for much needed road repairs. The first car park will still be open and the woods open for public use.

We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.

We will be working on the road in Great Wood on Thursday 23/05. Please bear with us as there may be some delays.

We love you coming to enjoy our spaces during the sunny weather but unfortunately the amount of rubbish being left behind is increasing.

These are some of our recent discoveries at Great Wood after the sunny weekends, including the barbeque (with rubbish inside it) and countless disposable barbeques-some of which are ending up on WOODEN tables. This is exactly the kind of thing that can cause a forest fire, especially done in the heat of the summer.

Please enjoy a picnic and then take your rubbish home with you so that everyone can enjoy the area.

And please DO NOT bring disposable barbeques into the forest. EVER.

Thanks to all of you who look after our beautiful spaces 🙏

Another successful day of partnership working with Quantock Landscape Partnership Scheme and On Your Bike Taunton. This time looking at bike maintenance, getting ready for our next session in Great Wood learning bike skills with Exmoor Adventures!

Another successful partnership morning with Quantock Landscape Partnership Scheme and Forest Catkins leader working with the ‘Afriquan’ group doing some forest art in Great Wood. The sun even came to say hello!

We all loved it 😊

Nothing like a long, hard, wet winter to make you appreciate a beautiful spring afternoon like this! Now just turn the heat up a notch or two please!

Have you ever wondered how Forestry England teams across the country are keeping England’s forests fit for the future? 🌱

Wonder no more, as we unpick it all in Episode Four of The Forestry England Podcast.

Listen now 👉 forestryeng.land/listen-to-our-podcast

Have you noticed buds starting to appear on the trees? 🌱 The buds we’re currently seeing on tree branches started developing last year, ready to spring(!) into action now. The timing of the spring bud burst can be different each year as trees react to the conditions around them, including temperature, daylight, and water. How clever is that?

📷 Johnny Hathaway

The Magnolia trees have just started to bloom. Come and have a look at our Tall Trees Trail at Nutcombe Bottom site, near Dunster. It brightens up an otherwise grey sky. Come and have a look 🌺🌷🌳

Have your say on the draft Wootton Ridge Management Plan 2024-34.

The consultation period for the 2nd stage ends on Friday 8th March. We welcome your input. All information and details of the consultation are available on the Exmoor National Park Authority website:

https://www.exmoor-nationalpark.gov.uk/nature-and-landscape/Long-term-management-of-open-habitats-on-Wootton-Ridge/_nocache).

Long-term management of open habitats on Wootton Ridge | Exmoor Following an extensive 1st stage of public consultation undertaken in 2023, the landowners of Wootton Ridge (including parts of Wootton Courtenay, Hopcott Common, Alcombe Common, and Grabbist Hill) have produced a draft 10-year management plan for the ridge’s open areas. The draft plan aims to joi...

I found these stunning Fungi in Great Wood this morning. I think they are Sarcoscypha austriaca otherwise known as 'Elf Ears'. Though I stand to be corrected!

What Fungi have you noticed recently?

Some more young Douglas Fir plants have now gone in to our site at St Audries. This time we are filling in the gaps from the last re-plant. When we plant a crop we expect a certain amount to die due to environmental factors (weather, deer, rabbits etc). We then fill in the gaps in order that the correct stocking density is reached. This encourages the trees to grow up and straight (not wide and bushy)!

Last week our very own Partnership Ranger Owen led a group of volunteers to finish the hedge laying project just off Ashley Combe in Great Wood. We think they did a great job 👏👏👏. Let us know what you think when you next visit!

We are very pleased to announce that all tracks at Wootton Courtenay are now back open 😃. There is still some timber at roadside which is due to be collected by the end of February. Thanks to all the users of the site for your involvement and patience.

NUTCOMBE BOTTOM Tree down and road closure!
We are aware of the large Oak tree which has fallen on the footpath between the Nutcombe Bottom car park and the Tall Trees Trail. This is due to be removed on Tuesday 16th January.

There will also be a road closure on the road to the Nutcombe Bottom car park due to essential tree maintenance on 29th and 30th January.

You may have noticed that we have been doing some work in Cockercombe. The work is now complete but some of the tracks have been closed due to the wet condition of the tracks. This is only a temporary measure but necessary with all the rain we have had!

We appreciate your cooperation with this 😀

Heads up! We’re giving you a chance to win a stay at one of 12 incredible forest cabin locations across the country this Christmas!

Read the terms and conditions and enter today 👉 forestryeng.land/forest-holidays-win

Get crafty this weekend our free Christmas activity sheets 🌟

Create some decorations to spruce up your spruce 👇

Christmas family activity sheets From making the perfect decorations to spruce up your spruce, to designing a pot for your sapling. Download these craft ideas to make this Christmas the best yet!

Buy tees, plant trees 🌳

Treat you and your loved ones to some of our merchandise, and Ecotricity will plant some trees 👕 👉 forestryeng.land/shop

If you have small people to entertain this Christmas season then come to the Great Wood and follow Robin's merry mission trail! The trail is up and ready. A short 2 mile walk for little legs following the escapades of the red Robin!

This weekend, see how strong your dragon breath really is...

Download our free Zog activity sheets 🧡👇

Zog activity sheets Download and print our family-friendly activity sheets, for a day of dragon fun in the forest or at home!

Don’t let the cooler temperatures stop you from visiting our beautiful forests this week, there’s so much to see as the season changes 🍂

Need some convincing? Pop your hot chocolate in a reusable cup and bring it along as you explore some of our favourite autumn spots 👉 forestryeng.land/walking-in-autumn

For your chance to WIN a £350 GoPro HERO11, plus walking gear from Patagonia and much more, simply join the Forestry England Strava Walking Club and share a photo from your autumn walks in the forest!

Don’t forget to say which Forestry England location it was taken at Our favourite photo will be chosen on 1st December 2023, and the winner will receive the ultimate autumn prize bundle.

Two runners up will receive a Forestry England goody bag including tote bag, reusable water bottle, notebook, and pen.

Good luck!

See terms and conditions here 👉 https://forestryeng.land/walking-club-competition