Uffington Gorse Walk Through Update. West Vale Branch

Uffington Gorse

In 2022, with the generous support of Trust members & grants, the WBCT purchased a 987 year lease on land to the north-east of Uffington. Marked on maps as Uffington Gorse, but known locally as Fox Covert. The area comprises over 9 acres of mixed-tree, amenity woodland and, as its western boundary, 200 metres of the historic line of the Wilts & Berks Canal. It is owned by the Woodland Trust but since 2012 has been leased.
The wood is located 850 metres north-east of the village of Uffington, on the Baulking road, and lies at the very eastern end of the West Vale Branch's area.



There are many paths in the woods, which are open to the public, it is a lovely peaceful site. The canal itself is in a very deep cutting, made even deeper by the spoil that was piled on the eastern bank during its construction in the 1810s. The canal is full of debris and is very overgrown with lots of fallen trees, the odd telegraph pole and many car tyres. The bank is now home to some very large trees that may date from soon after the canal construction.

Old maps indicate that the site had trees at least 150 years ago but we believe that it was mainly planted in the 1920s with oak and pine and included a 'fox covert', built by a local fox hunt. Prior to the Woodland Trust acquiring the site in 1985 it had been mostly clear-felled, so the Woodland Trust replanted with native species. Today there are birch, beech, oak, holly, hazel, ash and pine plus some ground cover of honeysuckle, bramble and ferns.


The lease places some restrictions on what we can and cannot do and there is a Tree Preservation Order (TPO) on some of the trees on the canal bank.
The Branch will now be working with the freehold owners, The Woodland Trust, the local councils and ecologists to ensure the woodland is sympathetically managed, the biodiversity of the site is safeguarded and the canal restored.

Use the what3words below to find one of the three entrances to the woodland. There is enough room to park a car off the road at this point.
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