Oak trees in the Rough Wood Local Nature Reserve - geograph

Rough Wood is a small woodland area located within the Short Heath area of

Willenhall Willenhall is a market town situated in the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall, in the West Midlands, England, with a population taken at the 2011 census of 28,480. It is situated between Wolverhampton and Walsall, historically in the county of St ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. It covers two local nature reserves: Rough Wood and Rough Wood Chase. It is one of only a few remaining

ancient woodland In the United Kingdom, an ancient woodland is a woodland that has existed continuously since 1600 or before in England, Wales and Northern Ireland (or 1750 in Scotland). Planting of woodland was uncommon before those dates, so a wood present in 16 ...

s with a mix of tree varieties but comprising largely

oak trees An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...

. Historically the woodland was privately owned up until the 1950s when it was given to the then

Council to protect it from clay extraction. The council promptly placed a preservation order on all the trees. First mentioned in the 12th Century as a royal hunting wood it stretched over a vast area taking in most of what is currently

Walsall Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands County, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located north-west of Birmingham, east ...

all the way to the woodland that is now known as

Cannock Chase Cannock Chase (), often referred to locally as The Chase, is a mixed area of countryside in the county of Staffordshire, England. The area has been designated as the Cannock Chase Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and is managed by Forestry En ...

. The woodland resides on top of the Bentley Seam of coal which runs close to the surface of the ground. It was previously exploited for coal resources which is evident by large sections having undulating surfaces caused by the sinking of bell pits. The site is encircled by the Woodlands housing estate to the north and west, by the

M6 motorway The M6 motorway is the longest motorway in the United Kingdom. It is located entirely within England, running for just over from the Midlands to the border with Scotland. It begins at Junction 19 of the M1 and the western end of the A14 at t ...

to the east and by the Wyrley and Essington canal to the south and east.

References

External links

Rough Wood Wedge on Walsall Council's website

Forests and woodlands of the West Midlands (county) Willenhall Local Nature Reserves in the West Midlands (county) {{UK-geo-stub