Waresley & Gransden Woods

Welcome to waresleywood.co.uk, a website dedicated to providing information on all topics relating to the Waresley and Gransden Woods reserves of The Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire.

News - 04/11/2025

Time to leave the white trainers at home as mud has returned to the woods. Regular visitors will know that only a little bit of rain can quickly create a muddy path. Sturdy footwear or wellies should now be worn for splashing in the puddles. As always in a natural environment, visitors should take care and be aware of their surroundings and keep to the paths.

Good progress continues to be made in our current coppicing task along the un-profiled ride. If you're interested in joining us, contact me using the form on the About page. View the Conservation Work page to see what we achieve in the 2025-26 season.

One of the paths in the wood still remains temporarily closed until the ground dries enough for the removal of ruts along it. This closure means that the first section of the re-profiled "main ride" has become a cul de sac, without exit. The second, newly profiled ride section will remain closed for a prolonged period to allow the ground to resettle and re-generate. Please respect the Trust's wishes by not entering this area.

02/11/2025 - November already and autumn is in full swing in the woods. Every year I try and capture the colours of the fallen leaves, see the image to the right (or below) for this year's attempt. The sun came out just at the right moment!

02/11/2025 - Along the unprofiled ride we have so far created about 15 coppice scallops. These are small cleared areas along the edge of the ride, intended to introduce a greater diversity of environments along the ride edges. Visit my Conservation page to learn more about our conservation work in the woods.

18/10/2025 - A first for us today, a sighting of these magnificant fly agaric fungi. A poisonous and highly toxic mushroom, so called as it both attracts and kills flies. We've seen 95 different species of flora and fauna so far, out of a potential 121. Check them out on my Sightings page.

18/10/2025 - The spindle tree in Brownes' Piece that I featured recently on this web page, has opened its fruit cases. The orange fruit within are now fully visible.