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LEI Country

Ratby Woodlands

Includes Martinshaw, Pear Tree, Burroughs and Crow Woods


Location Plans

Permanent Orienteering Course available soon in Martinshaw Woods

View details of other Permanent Orienteering Courses


These woodlands are in numerous ownerships mostly the Woodland Trust, with recent extensions carried out with financial assistance from the National Forest who are also presently assisting us financially to put a permanent orienteering course into Martinshaw which provides the core of the area. The Woodland Trust owns Martinshaw (103 ha) and Peartree Woods nearby (19 ha) and parts of Burroughs Woods (37 ha). They also have two smaller areas joined to the rest by the footpath network, namely Polebrook & Crow Woods. Also included in our mapped area are Grey Lodge Wood (10 ha), Wirlybones Wood, the Coppice (7 ha) and Hollow Oak Woods (12 ha) under separate ownerships but all funded in part by the National Forest.


The Coppice is adjacent to Forest Hill Golf Club near Botcheston. Nature conservation is a very strong focus for the site. However, it has also been designed to yield coppice products for craft use. The planting is a mixture of broadleaf species such as oak, lime, ash, wild cherry, whitebeam and silver birch. Hazel accounts for about 20% of the total planting. The coppiced branches, which will be cut in future years, will be used for furniture making, fencing and charcoal burning. Large areas of rough grassland have been left as hunting territory for barn owls and owl nesting boxes have been erected around the site to encourage this declining species. Marshland and a pond provide habitats for invertebrates and wetland species. This is a useful addition for short course when we base any events from the golf club.


Not surprisingly Hollow Oak wood takes its name from the old oak tree in the centre of the site. The heartwood has decayed to leave a hollow centre. It is thought that the pollarding of this tree, like those at Bradgate Park, was carried out when Lady Jane Grey was beheaded. The existing woodland within this site, Change Spinney, had been unmanaged for many years but thinning of the trees has now been carried out to allow more light and to benefit the existing bluebell population and encourage redstarts into the wood. Bat boxes have been installed and some standing dead trees left for woodpeckers and insects. The downside is that the ponds and stream running through the lower area are now hard to access due to brambles. The line of a mediaeval park pale can be seen. This was an ancient boundary marked by a ridge, on top of which a fence was built.


Burroughs Wood or Ratby Burroughs is an area of new plantings next to an existing area of woodland and it includes grassy paths and open areas. An area of the site next to the adjacent woodland has been left to allow natural regeneration to take place. This will help to extend the area of ancient woodland and its associated flora. The track down the edge of the wood sits atop the remains of a mediaeval deer park bank and ditch. The old farmhouse (Old Hayes) dates back to 1733 but a house has existed on the site since 1280. The next door Peartree Wood links Ratby Burroughs to Martinshaw Wood, creating one of the largest continuous tracts of woodland in The National Forest area. The planting design reflects both of these other woods with conifers in the northern section blending into those at Martinshaw Wood in order to allow the movement of wildlife dependent on pine, particularly moths.


Grey Lodge Wood is immediately adjacent to Martinshaw Wood and Peartree Wood. Together they form a continuous belt of woodland next to the M1 motorway. Planting comprises 80% broadleaves and 20% conifers and reflects the other woodlands in the area.


Covering a good part of an original ancient woodland site, Martinshaw Wood itself is rich in ecological and archaeological interest. The site, which was bought by the Woodland Trust in 1985, is cut in two by the M1 motorway giving us a pinch point at present. The proposal for the widening of the M1 should be within the existing footprint and not impact on these woodlands, indeed there is a strong probability that a new land bridge will be created for wildlife and pedestrians. 36 different tree species can be found in the wood, which was extensively replanted with commercial conifer species in the 1950's. A progressive felling of the conifers to favour oak, beech, birch and other broadleaves will restore some of the wood's origin as a deer park. Flooded quarry pits are home to a variety of wildlife such as newts, frogs and toads and wide range of birdlife frequents to the woodland.


The whole area is of about 190 Hectares.