Uffington Gorse

In December 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 by several people. 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 several paths in the wood, which is open to the public, it is a 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 1810’s. The canal is full of debris, especially at the southern end where it has been infilled with waste materials 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 the 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 aquiring 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 what3words to find one of the three entrances to the woodland where there is just enough room to park a car off the road at this point.  ///intruded.tables.wealth

The wood and canal as purchased - January 2023

Activity during 2023

A strategy for the improvement of the whole site was developed; in outline:-

• Carrying out arboricultural and ecological surveys to establish a short and long-term Woodland Management Plan.
• Improving the access to and within the wood
• Removing discarded car tyres and metal
• Removing fallen trees blocking the canal & towpath
• Reinstating the towpath along the canal
• Removal of the fly-tipping filling the canal by Station Road
• Providing benches
• Installing signage
• and clearing the canal itself - a long-term objective, as significant funding will be necessary

Our plans, as outlined above, were submitted to and approved by The Woodland Trust.

Our first task was to engage a tree surgeon to survey the trees and make safe any unstable trees and broken branches. This was completed in late February. Additionally, our volunteers cut back some of hedges that border the wood, as these had encroached on the verges and roads, especially at the junction of Station Road and Moor Mill Road. During December, following grant funding from Uffington Parish Council, a contractor carried out a full hedge cut. The Parish Council kindly also funded the recycling of the discarded motor tyres which we collected in the spring.

During April, temporary signage was installed at the three entrances, informing visitors about WBCT's aquisition of the site and of our improvement plans. Also in April, our volunteers began regular Wednesday work-parties and the path alongside the canal (the original towpath) was cleared of bramble and scrub; although many fallen large trees still obstruct the path in places. This task had to be repeated during the summer as growth of nettles was prolific. 

Having made access along the old towpath, it was possible to make an inventory of the trees that obstructed the path and canal. As some were subject to the Tree Preservation Order (even though they were fallen and broken) permission for removal was gained from the District Council and because of the size of the trees, a Felling Licence had to be granted by the Forestry Commission.

Off-site, our project manager gained a grant so that ecologists could be sought and contracted to create the Woodland Management Plan.
Much planning was done to itemise and cost all the tasks involved in the overall strategy.

Having collected the larger items of rubbish from the site, our volunteers started to excavate the many tons of material dumped into the canal by Station Road. With advice from South Oxfordshire Archaeology Group, test pits were dug adjacent to the road in order to find what might remain of the original bridge that carried the road over the canal. Although some stonework was exposed, further, deeper digging will require the use of an excavator and the removal of the large fallen trees.

Towards the end of the year, the volunteer work-parties cleared an area by the the main Station Road entrance as a work site for our mobile welfare unit, they also created a new path to the canal, so that the trees felled by the canal may be moved to the gate.