Information Board at Carpenters Wood

Image: © David Hillas Taken: 11 Aug 2018

This information board is located on the Chiltern Way between Carpenters Wood and Hillas Wood. It has the following wording: LEFT OF MAP Welcome to this special woodland. Carpenters Wood is an ancient semi-natural woodland site, meaning it has had woodland growing here for at least the last 400 years. It is made up of three areas - Hillas Wood, Whitelands Wood and the larger Carpenters Wood. The area is designated a County Wildlife Site and falls within the Chiltern Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) and within the Metropolitan Green Belt. Public Access Carpenters Wood is owned and managed by Three Rivers District Council and the public are free to explore all areas by foot, although there is a clear path around the perimeter of the wood. On the eastern edge of the wood the public footpath follows a line at the base of the railway embankment. Access to horse riders and cyclists is restricted to the public bridleways, marked with blue arrows, and the permissive circular bridleway route marked in pink on this map. Wildlife The different compartments within this wood have different characters according to the make up of the soil and the woods management. Most of the more mature trees are beech and are around 150 years old. Also found naturally is oak, ash, cherry and hornbeam. Areas have been planted with a mixture of oak, cherry and hornbeam and most notably in Hillas Wood larch, a deciduous conifer, planted as a timber crop in the 1980s. This ancient wood is home to some special plants such as wood melick, coralroot bittercress and wood sanicle. Carpenters Wood is also carpeted with English bluebells in April and May. Interesting mammals include various species of bats, roe and muntjac deer. Standing dead wood provides nest sites for the lesser and greater spotted woodpeckers and a whole host of other organisms including fungi and insects. Other species such as butterflies, depend on light let in by felling trees or death of particularly large trees. Wide paths and woodland edges are sun traps for insects and flowers. RIGHT OF MAP History The Chilterns used to support a wide range of woodland industries including chair-making. Today, the woods are still harvested for timber but management for amenity, recreation and wildlife value has become equally important. An ancient hedge bank and ditch is still visible in places around the edge of the wood. This would have defined the boundary of the wood. Old pits are found on the eastern boundary which may have been the remains of sawpits, used by foresters to saw trees into planks to make them easier to remove. Besides this wording, the board also shows a map of the three woods plus illustrations from left to right, Coralroot Bittercress, Wood Melick and Bluebells. At the bottom right hand corner of the information board, it mentions that the area is supported by Forestry Commission England, Countryside Management Service and Three Rivers District Council.

Images are licensed for reuse under creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0