Stapleford Woods form an area of
ancient woodland and
forest in
Stapleford, Lincolnshire,
England. The boundary of the ancient woods follows the county boundary between
Lincolnshire and
Nottinghamshire.
History
Left in ancient times to
Trinity College, Cambridge, the site was
clear-felled during the early stages of
World War I to supply local industry.
[ Left unplanted between the wars, the grounds were used as a British Army camp and training grounds during World War II.
In September 1943 No. 239 Squadron RAF had moved to RAF Ayr to train as a night fighter unit, and re-equipped with the ]De Havilland Mosquito
The de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito is a British twin-engined, shoulder-winged, multirole combat aircraft, introduced during the Second World War. Unusual in that its frame was constructed mostly of wood, it was nicknamed the "Wooden Wonder", or ...
. It then moved to RAF West Raynham, Norfolk to join No. 100 (Bomber Support) Group, participating in night time operations against enemy Nazi- Luftwaffe fighters. On 27 October 1944 during fighter affiliation training with No. 49 Squadron RAF
No. 49 Squadron was a bomber squadron of the Royal Air Force from 1938 to 1965. They were the first squadron to receive the Hampden in September 1938.
The unit achieved fame through the Victoria Cross awarded to Rod Learoyd in 1940 and for its r ...
, a Mosquito piloted by F/Lt J.H.Roberts and accompanied by Flight Engineer Sgt. A.M.Ashcroft, stalled and crashed in the woods, with the immediate death of both pilot and passenger.
After hostilities had ceased in late 1945, the woods were bought by the newly formed Forestry Commission.[ Along with much woodland in the River Trent valley, the site was extensively replanted in the 1950s with ]Scots
Scots usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including:
* Scots language, a language of the West Germanic language family native to Scotland
* Scots people, a nation and ethnic group native to Scotland
* Scoti, a Latin na ...
and Corsican pine, chosen to supply local industry.[
]
Present
Now a managed working forest under the care of Forestry England, surveys in 2004 found that the wood dated back at least 400 years, making it a designated ancient woodland.[ While many visitors are attracted by the Victorian era-plated Rhododendrons which are found throughout the wood at heights of up to , Forestry England and North Kesteven council have agreed to a 50-year plan to restore the forest to its original ]broad-leaf tree
A broad-leaved, broad-leaf, or broadleaf tree is any tree within the diverse botanical group of angiosperms that has flat leaves and produces seeds inside of fruits. It is one of two general types of trees, the other being a conifer, a tree with ne ...
state.[ Initial clearance of a area yielded a resultant crop of purple flowering heather, which germinated from seeds that had been buried for over 70 years.]
Leisure
The Forestry England car park gives access to a circular walk,marked
''The Real Badlands''
The woods were the main backdrop for the 2009 documentary film
''The Real Badlands'' produced by Current TV and Rockwood Pictures, by British filmmakers Tim Clark and Craig Ford. The film tells the story of a Newark-on-Trent couple (Simon Burgess and Susan Moran) fed up with modern-day life, who quit their jobs, sell all of their possessions and move into the woods.
The film was shot in the woods and Kelham, near Newark, during the summer and winter of 2008.[Lucy Millard, Newark Advertiser, Feb 13, 2009](_blank)
After release the film was controversial, due to claims that the film was in fact a mockumentary. The filmmakers publicly denied these claims in a written statement read out live on Current TV, minutes after the film was broadcast.[Stew Game, Current TV, Live Broadcast 2009](_blank)
References
External links
{{Commons category, Stapleford Woods
Stapleford Woods
at Forestry England
Stapleford Woods
at Lincolnshire County Council
Forests and woodlands of Lincolnshire
North Kesteven District