Sherwood Forest National Nature Reserve
The ancient royal forests of Birklands and Budby are extensive area of old woodland pasture and heathland dominated by native oaks and other native trees such as silver birch, rowan, holly and hawthorn.. The reserve protects 420 hectares of the ancient forest.
There are about a thousand ancient oaks most of which are known to be more than five hundred years old. The forest is also home to approximately a thousand beetle and spider species – many of which are rare – and over two-hundred species of fungi have been recorded. Local birdlife includes the great-spotted woodpecker, green woodpecker, tawny owl, redstart and nightjar. The area also supports a number of bat species, including the noctule.
Large tracts of dry sandy heathland, dominated by heather, gorse and bracken, were once widespread across the great Forest of Sherwood and important remnants of this landscape are found on Budby South Forest and other open areas of the NNR. The heathland is important for a range of characteristic breeding birds such as the tree pipit and woodlark and also has a rich invertebrate fauna.
Explanation of the Sherwood Forest National Nature Reserve
Sherwood Forest Information 