Let’s All Go Down to the Woods.

CHOPWELL Woods in Tyne and Wear has a recorded history that stretches back a full millennium. Demand for timber over those thousand years had reduced this once extensive forest to less than 100 acres by the early 19th Century. Reforestation took place and now Chopwell Woodland Park caters for tourism and recreation as much as it does for timber production. Forest rangers hold frequent adventure days, bat nights and tree walks. The woods are well worth a family visit.

The woodland park is now an area of beautifully mixed conifers and broad-leaved trees, making it the largest zone of woodland cover in Tyne and Wear. It provides and important local site for both wildlife and recreational interests.

Chopwell Woods provided timber for building ships and bridges, making pit props and producing charcoal and even repairing castles. One ship alone, the Sovereign of the Seas (later renamed the Royal Sovereign) and flagship of Charles I required over 1,600 oak trees, marked for felling bu naval architect Phineas Pett in 1634. Its management was taken over by the Forestry Commission in 1923. They went on to plant large blocks of such commercial conifers as pine, larch and fir. However there are large areas of oaks and beeches that are over a century old.

The wood is home to an amazing variety of wildlife despite its being on the very edge of the Tyneside conurbation. The sheer diversity of animal and plant life is what gives the wood its conservation value and importance rather then it being the habitat of merely a couple of rare species.

Surveys have recorded over 250 plant species that range from the tiny duckweed with leaves that are only ¼ inch across to the magnificent douglas Firs that can grow to over 150 feet high.

This profusion of plant life provides a habitat for numerous invertebrates which include 16 species of butterflies and over 200 species of moths. There have been 95 species of birds recorded and there is also a wide variety of mammals in Chopwell woods. These include roe deer and it is one of the last English strongholds of out native embattled red squirrel.

Chopwell’s history was dominated and shaped by the coal industry throughout the 19th Century and into the 20th Century. Mines were sunk in and around the woods. These mines needed the mineral railway line that was laid in 1896 to haul the coals out of the woods. The villages of Chopwell and Victoria Garesfield were built on land reclaimed from the woods to house the miners.

At its peak, the railway carried over 2,900 tons of coal out of the woods each day. The final load was hauled out in 1961 and the last mine closed in 1966. Chopwell Woods returned to producing timber.

Later the Forestry Commission decided to make tourism a large part of their operation. Footpaths and designated walks were put into the woods. Picnic tables were installed at strategic spots and viewpoints were established overlooking the surrounding countryside. The commission erected a classroom next to the Forestry Depot.

Artists were commissioned to create outdoor artworks along the footpaths. The Forestry Commission later provided an easy access trail for the disabled.

The Friends of Chopwell woods marked the wood’s industrial heritage by placing two coal wagons on the route of the mineral railway line in 2001.

A number of events take place throughout the year in the 890 acre mixed wood. A local woodland and survival enthusiast holds bushcraft days in which he shows townies how to survive if they become lost in the woods.

The Annual Forest Festival, which is considered to be the premier woodland event in England is held over a weekend, usually in July.

Summer Forest Adventure is a series of games, fun and sheer adventure in the depths of the woods which are led by experienced ranger guides.

A number of bat walks take place on summer evenings.

Nature’s bounty is not neglected. Food for Free enables visitors to discover the culinary delights that grow wild in the woods with tasting sessions and recipes being available. The rangers also lead Fungal Forays into Chopwell Wood.

Frequent walks are guided by the rangers, especially the Trees, Glorious Trees stroll. Orienteering days which instruct beginners in basic map reading skills are also held.

The woods are open during December for the sale of Christmas trees.

More details on the events and facilities of Chopwell Wood can be obtained from the Forestry Commission ranger on 01207 542231.