Wychwood Forest Trust

10/06/2026

2 of our hedgelaying team travelled up to Coventry at the start of the week for some intensive first aid training.

The Level 3 Emergency First Aid at Work + Forestry qualification is designed to equip learners with the knowledge and skills required to respond to emergency first aid situations in forestry and agricultural environments.

Claire and Stuart learnt how to deal with emergency situations as they arise, and the importance of reducing risk through increased awareness.

In readiness for the next hedgelaying season, we are going to review our already stringent emergency planning procedures and overhaul our First Aid kit so we are ready for any eventuality.

Here is Claire tackling a simulated catastrophic bleed. She said "It was a lot more exciting than dealing with paper cuts, which was about as serious as wounds got on my previous first aid at work course!"

A big thank you to MediArb for a fantastic course - even if it looks a bit ick!

02/06/2026

We have two new nature walks coming up in June.

On Sunday June 7th, join herpetologist Neil Clennell for a leisurely ramble around Wigwell nature reserve in Charlbury, looking for the resident reptiles.

Wigwell is an interesting mosaic of habitats within an old pastoral landscape and supports a diversity of wildlife including a number of rarities, from black hairstreaks to water shrews. It is also home to three of the six native British reptile species, so there's a good chance to see slow worms, grass snakes and common lizards.

Then on Sunday June 21st, Neil will be leading a nature walk around Gibbets Hill, our rewilding and research site on the edge of Witney.

At the moment the site is not freely open to the public, so this is your chance to see it early on in its rewilding journey and learn about the cutting-edge ecological research being done here to combat biodiversity loss. You will also be able to see a major wetland creation project completed in 2024.

It is a great opportunity to enjoy a walk in the heart of the Cotswolds in this very special place, home to a wide variety of wildlife including bats, barn owls and some magnificent veteran oak trees, and with spectacular views from the top of the hill.

There will also be the opportunity to ask Neil questions about habitat restoration, natural regeneration or any other aspect of the rewilding process as you go around the site.

For more info and tickets to either of these events, go to https://www.wychwoodforesttrust.co.uk/event-list

01/06/2026

The UK faces a growing climate and nature emergency. Yet most people have never been fully briefed on what it means for our lives, our economy and our future.

The National Emergency Briefing is the result of leading experts and concerned citizens joining forces to encourage UK decision-makers to step up their response to the escalating climate and nature crisis. The People's Emergency Briefing initiative is explicitly non-partisan and is supported by a wide range of well-known organisations, like the British Ecological Society, the Royal Meteorology Society, the Royal Society of Biology, the National Trust, the Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust, the Climate Reality Project, the Campaign for the Protection of Rural England and various other environmental organisations and academic institutions.

A new film from the National Emergency Briefing sets out the risks facing the nation - and the credible, positive responses available - in a clear and accessible account designed for screenings in communities across the UK. It brings together nine leading UK scientists and experts with the latest evidence and why it matters for things like:

🌧️ Extreme weather
🍞 Food security
🏥 Health
💷 Cost of living

The film is based on the National Emergency Briefing in Westminster, featured by ITV, Channel 4 and The Times.

Hosted by our friends at Sustainable Charlbury, the screening on Thursday 11 June at Charlbury Memorial Hall HAS NOW SOLD OUT! (Tickets are actually free, but you know what I mean ...)

So another screening has been arranged for Friday 12th June - doors open at 7pm, film starts at 7.30pm.

Tickets and more info available from

Peoples Emergency Briefing community screening – Charlbury Memorial Hall, Multiple dates and times - A special community screening: The People’s Emergency Briefing What’s happening with climate and nature, and what does it mean for everyday life in the UK? Join us for a screening of the...

28/05/2026

Join us on Wednesday 3rd June 10am - 12pm for a ramble around Dean Common.

Led by experienced Thames Valley Environmental Records Centre Biodiversity Officers and Wychwood Forest Trust, this event offers a chance to engage with the great outdoors and appreciate the wonders of the natural world. From birdwatching to tree identification, there will be plenty of activities to help you notice the beauty all around you.

Research indicates that spending time in natural surroundings can enhance both mental and physical well-being, alleviate stress, and boost your mood. You will also have the opportunity to learn about local wildlife and their habitats, deepening your connection to the environment.

Dean Common was WFT’s very first nature reserve, created in 1997 in partnership with Oxfordshire District Council on the site of a former sand quarry. After sand extraction ended at the site, the quarry was partially restored in some areas with appropriate scrub and tree planting and left to rewild through natural succession in others. The low nutrient subsoil left behind in disused quarries results in interesting and specialist plants and invertebrates, particularly in the early stages of colonisation and successional change.

Today, the nature reserve is a remote gem with a rich and maturing mosaic of habitats including young woodland, dense scrub, open grassland and a series of seasonal and permanent ponds.

Come join us at this Noticing Nature event at Dean Common to appreciate and connect with nature in a whole new way.

Tickets are free and available from:

Come join us at Dean Common to appreciate and connect with nature in a whole new way!

20/05/2026

It's World Bee Day!

By observing World Bee Day each year, we can raise awareness on the essential role bees and other pollinators play in keeping people and the planet healthy, and on the many challenges they face today.

In 2017, the UN General Assembly declared 20 May as World Bee Day. The date was chosen as it was the day Anton Janša, a pioneer of modern apiculture, was born. Janša came from a family of beekeepers in Slovenia, where beekeeping is an important agricultural activity with a long-standing tradition.

Today bees, pollinators, and many other insects are declining in abundance. This day provides an opportunity for all of us – whether we work for governments, organizations or civil society or are concerned citizens – to promote actions that will protect and enhance pollinators and their habitats, improve their abundance and diversity, and support the sustainable development of beekeeping.

Supported by the Wychwood Forest Trust & Southill Solar, a new program of bumblebee monitoring has started on Wigwell nature reserve in Charlbury. It builds on the bumblebee monitoring at the Southill Solar site that was set up last year. If you’d like to get involved, drop us a line at [email protected].

For more info about Word Bee Day, visit: https://www.fao.org/world-bee-day/en/

“Bee together for people and the planet.”

18/05/2026

The Telegraph recently reported that the Wychwood Forest is in the top 10 of the most enchanting woodlands in the UK.

For those - like us (and our close neighbours TreeDwellers - extraordinary treehouse escapes) - who are lucky enough to live and work in the shadow of this ancient hunting forest in Oxfordshire, this didn't come as a surprise!

A big thank you to the writer Harriet O'Brien for nominating this special place, and to Katie Collier at the Oxford Mail for following up this story.

Of course, the Wychwood only survives now in fragments, most of it in private ownership and therefore not easily accessible, but you can still get a sense of the ancient Wychwood by walking the Wychwood Way.

The Wychwood Way is a 59 km (37 mile) circular trail following waymarked rights of way around the heart of the ancient Royal Forest of Wychwood. The trail is a celebration of 1000 years in the life of this very special area and was designed to highlight some of the most interesting historic landscape patterns and features, habitats and traditional forms of management within the former forest area.

We have a walking guide available which takes the reader on a journey through time, from the evidence of the very earliest, pre-historic settlers through to the present day.

To read the article in the Oxford Mail go to https://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/26102529.wychwood-forest-named-one-britains-enchanting/ (no paywall).

For more about the guidebook go to https://www.wychwoodforesttrust.co.uk/shop

14/05/2026

Join us next week for a volunteer work party at Foxburrow Wood.

We will meet on Thursday 21st at 10am in the carpark. We will be installing the new noticeboards and there's quite a few tidying up jobs to do, so do brings work gloves if you have them and wear your mucky boots.

Everyone is welcome - the more the merrier. Just drop a line to [email protected] so we know how many willing volunteers to expect!

Thanks everyone - see you then.

13/05/2026

Join Neil Clennell, WFT's CEO and resident herpetologist, on 7 June for a leisurely walk around Wigwell nature reserve in Charlbury to look for the resident reptiles.

Wigwell is an interesting mosaic of habitats within an old pastoral landscape and supports a diversity of wildlife including a number of rarities, from black hairstreaks to water shrews. It is also one of the better sites for reptiles that WFT manages, and there is a good chance of seeing three of the six native British species in one morning.

The walk starts at 11 am and we we will probably be out for about 2 hrs.

To book your spot, go to https://www.wychwoodforesttrust.co.uk/event-list

12/05/2026

Overall, there has been a decline in butterfly numbers over the last 10 years. Monitoring this change has never been more important. ​

Butterfly records are scarce across West Oxfordshire and the Wychwood Forest area, making it more difficult to track how populations in our area are changing. Luckily, it's easy to help change that. ​

There are two simple ways you can start recording butterflies:

Download the free iRecord Butterflies app, which can be used to make records wherever you are. It's very simple and includes identification help and location tracking. ​​

Create an account and start recording butterflies in your garden on Butterfly Conservation's website. It's easy to use with plenty of guidance and photos to help with identification.

https://butterfly-conservation.org/our-work/recording-and-monitoring/irecord-butterflies

You can download free identification PDF guides to the butterflies you might see in the historic Wychwood area - 120 square miles of West Oxfordshire - from our website.
https://www.wychwoodforesttrust.co.uk/shop

Many thanks to Butterfly Conservation's Upper Thames Branch for putting together these guides for us.

05/05/2026

May is National Walking Month, and now that the weather is brighter, there's no excuse not to get out and about!

If you live in Oxfordshire, or are planning to visit our beautiful county any time this month, why not try walking the Wychwood Way in May, or over the summer?

The Wychwood Way is a 59 km / 37 mile circular trail following waymarked rights of way around the heart of the ancient Royal Forest of Wychwood in Oxfordshire.

The trail is a celebration of 1000 years in the life of this very special area and was designed to highlight some of the most interesting historic landscape patterns and features, habitats and traditional forms of management within the former forest area.
​
Our lovely guidebook for the route takes the reader on a journey through time, from the evidence of the very earliest, pre-historic settlers through to the present day. It has detailed walking directions for the whole of the Wychwood Way, supported by maps and SP map references, as well as 10 shorter circular walks linked to the Wychwood Way.

https://www.wychwoodforesttrust.co.uk/shop