The path through Borsdane Wood (geograph 2417498)

Borsdane Wood is an Ancient Semi Natural Woodland in the Mersey Rivers catchment area, in the

Metropolitan Borough of Wigan The Metropolitan Borough of Wigan is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, in North West England. It is named after the main settlement of Wigan. It covers the towns of Atherton, Ashton-in-Makerfield, Golborne, Hindley, Ince-in-Mak ...

and

Metropolitan Borough of Bolton '')'' , image_skyline =Bolton Town Hall.jpg , imagesize = 250px , image_caption = Bolton Town Hall, the seat of Bolton Council , image_blank_emblem = Coat of arms of Bolton Metropolitan Borough Council.png , blank_emblem_type = Coat of Arms of ...

Greater Manchester Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county and combined authority, combined authority area in North West England, with a population of 2.8 million; comprising ten metropolitan boroughs: City of Manchester, Manchester, City of Salford, Salford ...

, England. It is believed to have been continuous woodland cover since before 1600 AD and is composed of native tree species that have not obviously been planted. Borsdane Wood was designated a Local Nature Reserve in 1986. The wood consists of approximately 34 hectares (85 acres) of mixed broadleaf trees including species such as oak, ash, birch, cherry, hazel, hawthorn, blackthorn and dog rose, as well as areas of open ground. With trees many hundreds of years old the wood has remained relatively unchanged for centuries and is home to a wide variety of wildlife. The wood follows the course of the Borsdane Brook which is the boundary between Hindley and

Westhoughton Westhoughton ( ) is a town and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, southwest of Bolton, east of Wigan and northwest of Manchester.Hindley, Greater Manchester Hindley is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan in Greater Manchester, England. Lying east of Wigan it covers an area of . Within the boundaries of the historic county of Lancashire, Hindley (which includes Hindley Green) borders th ...

there are several entrances to the wood, one of which can be accessed from Hindley centre through Raynor Park or through the cemetery. A tunnel under the railway leads into woodland little changed in centuries. A path leads to

Aspull, Greater Manchester Aspull is a village in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, in Greater Manchester, England. Historically in Lancashire, Aspull, along with Haigh, is surrounded by greenbelt and agricultural land, separated from Westhoughton, on its southeast side, ...

where the access is located near the Gerrard Arms

Public House A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...

. The town of

External links

Wigan guide to Borsdane Wood
(PDF)
A walk through Borsdane Wood (in pictures) 2005
* Nature reserves in Greater Manchester Local Nature Reserves in Greater Manchester Forests and woodlands of Greater Manchester {{Protected-area-stub