BUCKENHAM WOOD
BUCKENHAM ANCIENT WOODLAND TRUST:
Its History and Recent Activities. A copy of the report for Annual Parish Meeting held 21 May 2024 can be viewed here
Please visit trust website at https://www.buckenhamancientwoodland.org/home
History
It was some twenty-three years ago that the Parish Council made the decision to take issue with Norfolk County Council over its plans to explore making eight acres of Buckenham Wood a landfill site. The existing site on Mill Hill was nearing capacity and the former gravel pit, now an inert waste tip, next to the Wood Lane houses, was in their line of fire!
The Parish Council and the local community objected very strongly having endured 20 years of the Mill Hill site and its spreading of plastic throughout the countryside whenever there were strong winds.
Together with grants and contributions from residents of Strumpshaw the Parish Council succeeded in buying the site which had been used for dumping concrete and lumps of tarmac.
A two year restoration project took place which included covering the dangerous materials and reshaping the top level to make it safe for the public to visit. The result was the delightful place it is today.
And now there is another initiative to add 7.4 acres for the public to access. The Parish Council does not have the resources to buy the land but has encouraged the setting up of the Buckenham Ancient Woodland Trust whose task will be to raise the money to buy and maintain the woodland for future generations to enjoy.
To donate please visit Buckenham Ancient Woodland Trust - Donate
Buckenham Wood Project Committee works completed.
Improvements carried out so far include:
-
2 notice boards, one at the Wood Lane entrance and the other where the footpath from Lingwood enters the wood.
-
2 cycle stands by the Wood Lane entrance.
-
4 new oak benches.
-
New entrance gates and fencing at the Wood Lane entrance
-
An accessible pathway from the Wood Lane entrance leading to two benches on the western side of the central glade.
-
A wider and improved path through the western dip.
-
Improvements to the steps on the central path.
-
Improvements to the eastern path along the top of the old quarry.