Woodland Walk - Green Route
Why not see how many native trees you can spot in our woodland? This woodland was once part of the Leggett-inspired parkland. Some of the large old specimen trees will have been planted in the late 1700s as part of this re-design. You will need to pop on your wellies, as the paths are very muddy at this time of year!
Map
Start:
The car park at Lower Brockhampton
1
Walk back towards the entrance to the car park then fork left following the green markers into the field that runs parallel to the drive. Walk away from the manor (remembering to turn around to enjoy the view) until you go though the gate at the other end of the field
2
Follow the path into the woods. By the stream, follow the left fork of the path.
How many different types of trees can you spot?
In Brockhampton's 700 acres of woodland, there are 32 recorded species of trees. From old oak and ash trees to younger small leaved lime, sweet chestnut, sycamore, alder, hazel and beech trees, how many different kinds of trees can you spot?
3
Walk over the stream, and pass Harold the horse. Turn right and begin climbing up the sides of the valley, following the green arrows. There are several sections of steps to negotiate, so take care.
Harold the Horse
Harold represents the horses that would have been involved in tree felling in previous centuries. He is named after a horse that worked on the Brockhampton estate for many years.
4
Continue straight along the path and cross over the stream. Follow the green way-markers, taking the left fork and then take the path of the right.
Carriageways
In 1769, not long after Bartholomew Barneby had built the new mansion, Thomas Leggett was commissioned to produce a layout for the parkland. Leggett’s ambitious plans, which included a serpentine lake and extending the grounds by 400 acres, were never realised, but the Barnebys still sculpted the estate. Bartholomew and his son John planted trees, took out field boundaries and converted arable land, orchards and hop grounds into designed land. Carriageways were also cut into the sloping parkland around the estate, the tracks of which can still be made out in the hills today.
5
Continue upwards until you reach a path going left, follow this along the top of the valley. Take in the fine specimens of oak trees in this part of the wood; some are 500 years old. These trees support up to 300 different species of wildlife from mammals to insects and fungi.
Woodland wildlife
Brockhampton’s woodlands are a magnet for birds: great and lesserspotted woodpeckers, pied flycatchers, redstart and great tits can all be seen here. The clearings attract buzzards, sparrowhawks and kestrels as they seek out their meal. Once trees have died, their fallen, decaying trunks make an ideal home for insects, fungi and lichens. Although they’re unlikely to be spotted by our daytime visitors, the wider estate is also home to a number of bat species, including soprano pipistrelle, greater and lesser horseshoe and the extremely rare Daubenton’s. Badgers and foxes are also known to forage around the woodland floor.
6
Continue until you reach Grove Pool. Follow the path to the left and then take the path on the right over the stream. Continue straight ahead down the hill. At the end of the path, turn left and once you have crossed over the second stream, take the path on the right towards the manor. Walk through the field until you arrive back at the car park.
Grove Pool
This pool was originally formed by the construction of an enormous earthwork dam which sat across the valley. It was sufficiently extensive to support its own wharf, constructed in stone walling close to The Grove farmhouse, so it is likely it was used for boating and fishing.
End:
The car park at Lower Brockhampton
