Ostler's Plantation is a woodland east of

Woodhall Spa Woodhall Spa is a former spa Village and civil parish in Lincolnshire, England, on the southern edge of the Lincolnshire Wolds, south-west of Horncastle, west of Skegness, east-south-east of Lincoln and north-west of Boston. It is noted for ...

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-west, Leicestershire ...

on Kirkby Moor. It has public access and lies to the west of an open area of

Lowland Heath Lowland heath is a Biodiversity Action Plan habitat as it is a type of ancient wild landscape. Natural England's Environmental Stewardship scheme describes lowland heath as containing dry heath, wet heath and valley mire communities, usually below ...

, the

Kirkby Moor Nature Reserve Kirkby ( ) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley, Merseyside, England. The town, historically in Lancashire, has a size of is north of Huyton and north-east of Liverpool. The population in 2016 was 41,495 making it the largest ...

; both are noted for having large numbers of adders. The whole site is open to the public throughout the year, although some areas may be restricted during harvesting. It is a popular area for walking, horse riding and cycling with organised mountain biking and archery events held. There is no direct access to the adjoining nature reserves from the woodland - these have to be accessed by going back onto Kirkby Lane.

History

19th Century

The plantation was originally planted in the early 19th century by John Parkinson on an area of open moorland. After his bankruptcy in 1827 his former agent, William Ostler, became its owner.

20th Century

The majority of the woodland was acquired by the

Forestry Commission The Forestry Commission is a non-ministerial government department responsible for the management of publicly owned forests and the regulation of both public and private forestry in England. The Forestry Commission was previously also respon ...

in 1938 with the south west corner added in 1971. Today managed by

Forestry England Forestry England is a division of the Forestry Commission, responsible for managing and promoting publicly owned forests in England. It was formed as Forest Enterprise in 1996, before devolving to Forest Enterprise England on 31 March 2003 and ...

and still used as a commercial plantation with periodic harvesting.

Second World War

In 1942

RAF Woodhall Spa Royal Air Force Woodhall Spa or more simply RAF Woodhall Spa is a former Royal Air Force station located north of Coningsby, Lincolnshire and southeast of Lincoln, Lincolnshire, England. History Constructed on farmland south of Woodhall S ...

was built immediately to the south of the woodland with many of the bomb dumps, aprons and other associated buildings being built into the edge of the woodland. Much of these still remain as tracks and overgrown ruins.

Piri Piri Burr

The woodland has become home to the invasive Piri Piri Burr ''(Acaena novae-zelandiae)'' brought over by airmen from

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

during the ''

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

''. Efforts are underway to control and remove the plant.

Snake bites

On 18 April 2009 a 7-year-old boy was bitten by an adder after handling it while walking in the woods. After receiving hospital treatment at

Lincoln County Hospital Lincoln County Hospital is a large district general hospital on the eastern edge of north-east Lincoln, England. It is the largest hospital in Lincolnshire, and offers the most comprehensive services, in Lincolnshire. It is managed by the United ...

he made a full recovery; however it reignited concern over the danger of snakes. Although adders are a protected species, many local people believe that there should be adequate warning signs and that they should be under control. A lack of

anti-venom Anti-Venom is a fictional antihero appearing in Comic books published by Marvel Comics. It first appeared in ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' #569 (August 2008), and was created by Dan Slott and John Romita Jr. The creature belongs to a race of amorpho ...

has also been highlighted. Over the past years a number of dogs have also been bitten.

Fauna and Flora

Species resident or visitors to the woodland include:

Reptiles

* Adder (''Vipera berus'') *

Grass Snake The grass snake (''Natrix natrix''), sometimes called the ringed snake or water snake, is a Eurasian non-venomous colubrid snake. It is often found near water and feeds almost exclusively on amphibians. Subspecies Many subspecies are recogniz ...

(''Natrix helvetica'') *

Slow Worm The slow worm (''Anguis fragilis'') is a reptile native to western Eurasia. It is also called a deaf adder, a slowworm, a blindworm, or regionally, a long-cripple and hazelworm. These legless lizards are also sometimes called common slowworms. Th ...

(''Anguis fragilis'') *

Common Lizard The viviparous lizard, or common lizard, (''Zootoca vivipara'', formerly ''Lacerta vivipara''), is a Eurasian lizard. It lives farther north than any other species of non-marine reptile, and is named for the fact that it is viviparous, meaning it ...

(''Zootoca vivipara'')

Bats

* Natterers Bat * Noctule Bat * Common Pipestrelle * Soprano Pipestrelle Bat * Brown Long Eared Bat * Wiskered Bat * Daubentons Bat * Barbastelle Bat

References

External links

*{{cite web, title=OSTLERS PLANTATION, url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/domesday/dblock/GB-520000-363000/page/16, work=Domesday reloaded, publisher=BBC, accessdate=28 April 2013 Forests and woodlands of Lincolnshire