LEI Country
Wakerley Great Wood
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This woodland was part of the Rockingham Forest named about 900 years ago by the Norman Kings who hunted there. Wakerley has little changed since the entry in the Domesday Book in the 11th century. It is much the same size although many examples of man's fine tuning through the ages can be seen with a discerning eye.
Ditches and banks around the edge are actually evidence of the woodland boundaries and 13th century deer protections created by the then lord of the manor. In later years stone walls were added and the ruins of these can also be seen.
The only two stone-built cairns ever found in the area are in Wakerley and are bronze-age burial mounds.
There are also numerous holes in these woods which, despite rumours to that effect are not bomb craters made by planes ditching their unused bomb loads before coming in to land. Many are bell pits created by early ironstone miners and some are natural sinks where water has found a way through the clay and dissolved the limestone underneath. These potholes are not extensive enough to have any sporting interest and given the weight of the clay usually collapse before getting any real size creating these deep depressions.
Wakerley Great Wood is an historic ancient woodland. The car park is set amongst majestic larch and includes a large grassed area for games and picnics which is an ideal event base for us and is used for events both in Wakerley and in nearby Fineshade.
Wakerley is about 600 acres and has a diverse selection of wildlife perhaps one of the more unusual being crossbills
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