Lambridge Wood
| Site of Special Scientific Interest | |
 Bluebells in Lambridge Wood | |
| Location | Oxfordshire |
|---|---|
| Grid reference | SU734845 |
| Interest | Biological |
| Area | 73.8 hectares |
| Notification | 1984 |
| Location map | Magic Map |
Lambridge Wood is a 73.8-hectare (182-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest north-west of Henley-on-Thames in Oxfordshire. It is in the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.[1][2]
Soil types in the wood vary from calcareous to very acid. The main trees are beech, and other trees include oak, ash and wych elm. The understorey in mainly bramble, and in some areas bracken.[1]
Using the money he made from his TV programmes, the paleontologist Richard Fortey purchased four acres of the wood called Grim’s Dyke Wood, named after Grim's Ditch. He wrote up his investigation into its fauna and flora in The Wood for the Trees: The Long View of Nature from a Small Wood.[3] The book claims that this patch of woodland is the very one that John Stuart Mill who, after a walk through it argued that such woods are “the great beauty of this country”.[4][5]
Access routes include a footpath from Henley through Badgemore Park Golf Club.[2]
References
[edit]- ^ a b "Lambridge Wood citation" (PDF). Sites of Special Scientific Interest. Natural England. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 10 April 2016.
- ^ a b "Map of Lambridge Wood". Sites of Special Scientific Interest. Natural England. Retrieved 10 April 2016.
- ^ William Collins, 2016, ISBN 978-0-00-810466-5
- ^ Moss, Stephen (13 March 2025). "Richard Fortey obituary". The Guardian.
- ^ Cowen, Rob (25 May 2016). "The Wood for the Trees by Richard Fortey review – our deep-rooted connection to woodland". The Guardian.