Woodland Trust - Smithills Estate

16/10/2026

Thank you Fire Wardens 👏

As we move into Autumn, fire season 2026 draws to a close on the Estate, and we'd like to give a massive thank you to our Fire Wardens. Critical to our fire prevention, we credit them with helping Smithills avoiding a wildfire in the hot dry summer of 2026.

This years busy fire season has seen 66 days of elevated fire risk, 400 hours of volunteer fire warden activity, 91 patrols, and 44 reports of breaches of the Wildfire Public Space Protection Order reported. One fire warden put in a huge shift, completing 92 hours herself!

If you'd be keen to get involved as a fire warden next year, please check out the link in our bio. The role requires you to complete one fire warden patrol per fortnight during fire season.

📷️ Katie Thompson - Fire Warden public awareness stall at the Two Lads Archaeological Dig event

12/10/2026

Lets go on a Wonderful Lichen Safari! 🔎

Thank you to the brilliant students from The University of Salford , ‘Wonderful Lichen Safari’ is an independent student short film. The films brilliant presenter Katia discusses the special features in Smithills wet woodlands, such as lichens, and the importance of the UK’s wet woodlands and temperate rainforests. 🌳

‘Wonderful Lichen Safari’ is an independent student short film prod...

09/10/2026

Brynau Farm Visit! 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

Brynau, meaning 'many hills' in Welsh, is a 750-acre haven for wildlife in the industrial heartland of Wales. The site is varied with many habitats and visitors, similar to our very own Smithills Estate.

Roberta and Katie, our engagement staff, visited this week to catch up and join workshops with other Woodland Trust staff from across the UK, sharing stories and skills in people engagement and communications.

The visit also included a tour, where staff got to see the rare Ancient White Cattle of Wales, who live and breed on the site for conservation grazing and habitat restoration. The local team are working with the Ancient Cattle of Wales Society (Gwartheg Hynafol Cymru) to ensure the breed continues.

Brynau is definitely a spot to add to your next Wales road trip. Diolch to the Welsh team for their amazing event! 🗺️

02/10/2026

Heading out for a family walk this weekend? Make sure to check out the free printable nature activities at https://treetoolsforschools.org.uk/menu/

There is a spotter sheet for every season and interest, including trees, birds, fungi. 🍄

Our current favourite is the Autumn scavenger hunt, searching for rowan berries and conkers 🌰

30/09/2026

Ever wondered why some birds have a metal band around their leg?

Bird ringing is a licenced activity where a trained individual will attach a small, individually numbered tag to the leg of a wild bird. These tags helps us gather information and learn more about the behaviour, movement and survival of birdlife. Over time, we can monitor trends and ensure our nature conservation efforts help birds to thrive.

In recent weeks, local trained bird ringers visited the Smithills Estate to document a total of 232 of our feathered friends. Some wildlife volunteers came to watch and see their favourite birds up close.

Janice told us: "Very grateful to have spent time observing BTO ringers at work on Smithills Estate. Skilled, careful & compassionate individuals 👏👏👏"

28/09/2026

Have you seen new ponds popping up at Smithills?

Funded by Greater Manchester Ecology Unit (GMEU), the site team have planned for 7 new ponds to be created on the estate.

They are being dug out on previously grazed agricultural fields and the ponds will create a rich ecosystem and provide quality amphibian habitat. The environment will be highly suited for great crested newts, providing the potential for them to come to Smithills! 🦎

📷 Richard Cooke

23/09/2026

Access Project Update:

The first round of online survey analysis is complete and the local team have over 80 pages of numbers, graphs, and suggestions to consider. We will be combining the survey findings with notes from the in person consultations and local groups.

Over the coming autumn and winter, we plan to identify any gaps in the information we have, including having more discussions with community groups who haven't had a chance to give their say. We will do our best to balance community needs and opinions with our wildlife and nature conservation goals.

We hope to come back to the community in mid 2027 for another round of consultations, presenting our proposed pathways and improvements for the site for feedback.

If you have any questions or access feedback, please get in touch on [email protected].

21/09/2026

2026 Access Survey Highlights:

After a busy summer focusing on Two Lads, we've just received back the highlights from our online access survey in early 2026. Let's celebrate some of the positive themes in the feedback!

- We have a frequent and loyal core visitor base who feel high satisfaction with the site
- The most frequent reason to visit the Smithills Estate is having a love and connection to the area
- Two thirds of respondents come multiple times a week and visiting for over 20 years
- Most people visit us for a leisure walk, improving wellbeing and enjoying the scenery
- A more diverse community of people responded than we have heard from in previous surveys, providing us with a range of needs, interests and opinions
- 96% of LGBTQIA+ respondents who visit Smithills felt safe to be themselves in woodlands and green spaces
- The biggest barrier given by the respondents who hadn't visited Smithills is simply that they haven't heard of us... yet!

18/09/2026

“Will yo’ come o’ Sunday mornin’
For a walk o’er Winter Hill?
Ten thousand went last Sunday
But there’s room for thousand still!
Oh there moors are rare and bonny
And the heather’s sweet and fine
And the roads across the hilltops –
Are the people’s – yours and mine!”
- Alan Clarke

This month is the 130th anniversary of the Winter Hill Mass Trespass and volunteer Tony led a guided walk at the start of September to talk about the stories associated with the 3 successive weekends of trespass.

The route remains open to public access today. If you'd like to walk the route and learn more about the history, check out the Trespass Trail leaflet in our Linktree: https://linktr.ee/WTSmithills

📸 The 1982 commemoration of the mass trespass
Tony Greenwood

16/09/2026

We love our GP Federation walks! 🌳

Rain or shine, waterproofs or sunhats, the group will be out exploring Smithills woodlands and chatting the day away 🌦️

Check out our Eventbrite page to book on to our community events: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/woodland-trust-north-75162025843