An ancient woodland in Britain is land that has been continuously wooded since at least 1600 — a living record older than most of our counties. Today, only about 2.5% of the UK is covered by such places.
We work with local communities, councils and landowners to identify, document and defend them — quietly, often against new road schemes, housing pressure or simple neglect.
Around half of the world's bluebells (Hyacinthoides non-scripta) grow on these islands — and where they thrive, the woodland around them is almost certainly ancient and undisturbed.
Each April and May our volunteers walk transects through dozens of woods, recording bloom density, soil compaction and the presence of the invasive Spanish bluebell. The data tells us, year by year, how each forest is fairing.
Read the spring journalSpring Forest UK works across protection, restoration and education — each thread reinforcing the others, all in service of the woodland.
We register woodland under formal conservation covenants, intervene in planning processes that threaten ancient sites, and partner with landowners who want their land safeguarded for future generations.
Where forest has been lost, we plant native species in mixes appropriate to the local soil and climate — never monocultures, never imported saplings — and tend the new growth for at least its first decade.
Through school programmes, guided walks and our quarterly journal, we share what we know about British trees and the lives that depend on them — because what people understand, they tend to defend.
"We do not inherit the forest from our ancestors. We borrow it — briefly, and on terms we are still negotiating with the land itself." — Dr. Helen Ashcombe, Chair of Trustees
Members receive our seasonal journal, invitations to volunteer days, and the quiet knowledge that another patch of British woodland has a defender. From £4 a month.
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