78 Forests to Explore in England

Sherwood Forest is a royal forest in Nottinghamshire, England, famous by its historic association with the legend of Robin Hood.The area has been wooded since the end of the Last Glacial Period. Today, Sherwood Forest National Nature Reserve encompasses 423.2 hectares , surrounding the village of Edwinstowe, the site of Thoresby Hall. The forest gives its name to the Sherwood Parliamentary constituency.

Sherwood Pines is one of the largest forests in the midlands that is open to the public to explore and provides a picturesque setting for your next adventure. The site is perfectly located, providing an excellent base to explore the forest with numerous walking and cycling routes. It is also within walking distance to the many activities provided by Forestry England, including adventure playgrounds, Go Ape, bike hire, picnic areas, plus open-air concerts held throughout the year.

The South Downs National Park is England's newest national park, designated on 31 March 2010. The park, covering an area of 1,627 square kilometres in southern England, stretches for 140 kilometres from Winchester in the west to Eastbourne in the east through the counties of Hampshire, West Sussex and East Sussex. The national park covers the chalk hills of the South Downs and a substantial part of a separate physiographic region, the western Weald, with its heavily wooded sandstone and clay h

This is a really nice place, full of nature if you fancy a round trip walk. It's about 2 miles and if you get a good pace on, it takes you about an hour.. This large, ex-gravel pit is made up of a main-lake with gently sloping banks, shallow areas of water and ponds, low lying islands, a large scrape, and a fringe of reeds surrounded by grassland and wet woodland.

Swinley Forest is a large expanse of Crown Estate woodland mainly within the civil parishes of Windlesham. The woodland is owned and managed by the Crown Estate, and stretches over 2,600 acres of gentle hills from Bracknell to Crowthorne. One of the beautiful places fora trekking and also you can spend a good time in the woods.

Swithland Wood and The Brand is an 87.9 hectares biological Site of Special Scientific Interest south of Woodhouse Eaves in Leicestershire. Swithland Wood is part of the Bradgate Estate and is managed by the Bradgate Park Trust. Swithland Wood is a public woodland in Charnwood Forest, in Leicestershire. Although close to the village of Swithland, it is almost entirely within the parish of Newtown Linford.

The National Forest is a wonderfully varied landscape that is greening the heart of the country. You’ll find plenty of things to see and do and places to stay for a short break in and around our 200 square mile Forest. It stretches from the western outskirts of Leicester in the east to Burton upon Trent in the west, and is planned to link the ancient forests of Needwood and Charnwood.

The New Forest became a national park in 2005 and was once a royal hunting ground for William the Conqueror.It covers an area of 566 square kilometres and is made up of vast tracts of unspoilt woodland, heathland and river valleys. Today deer, ponies and cattle continue to roam free in its ancient heaths and woodland. Clear rivers and shady groves provide tranquillity and a car-free haven for walking, cycling and horse riding.

The Sherwood Forest Trust is the only charity whose work is solely focussed on the protection, preservation and promotion of Sherwood Forest. Its project is focussed on the restoration of lowland heathlands, the creation of a new afforestation toolkit, planting new trees and creating woodlands and increased community engagement with nature.

Watergate Forest Park is located on the site of the former Watergate colliery. Following reclamation work in the 1990's the site has been transformed and now provides a haven for wildlife and a great recreational site for visitors. A series of trails and paths take you through woodland, around the lake and through wildflower meadows. The site opened in 2000.

A beautiful World Heritage site that is home to stunning views, fantastic walks, exhilarating mountain biking, rare wildlife, and adventure play. Many different walking trails are available for all abilities ranging from gravel roads and surfaced paths to tracks of more difficult terrain to explore. This is a popular visitor’s attraction especially as it is England’s only all forest mountain.

Whippendell Wood comprises of 165 acres of ancient woodland located close to Cassiobury Park. Since 1954 Whippendell Wood has been designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest due to the woodland habitats present and its location in a predominantly urban and agricultural setting. The wood is open to the public, and there are several footpaths and orienteering routes through the wood. The wood is popular with dog walkers, and is also used as a shortcut to Cassiobury Park.

This is a huge nature reserve made up of five connected wildlife sites. This extensive series of shallow and deep open waters are surrounded with a wide range of marginal features, such as sparsely vegetated islands, gravel bars and shorelines, and habitats including reed swamp, marsh and so more. It is also a birdwatcher's paradise and The reserve forms part of a Site of Special Scientific Interest, and is managed by The Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire.

Wiltshire Wildlife Trust is a charity based in Devizes, England which owns and manages 40 nature reserves in Wiltshire and Swindon. It is one of 46 Wildlife Trusts across the United Kingdom, which together form the largest voluntary organisation dedicated to protecting wildlife and wild places everywhere – at land and at sea.

Wistman's Wood is an ancient forest that has largely been left to grow wild, free of destruction, or shaping by humans or large animals. This National Nature Reserve of 170ha mainly consists of a model example of the upland heathland and has a wealth of moorland birds. Wistman’s Wood is in the Dart river valley and has views of wild Devon that you won’t find anywhere else in the country.

Worcester Woods Country Park is a country park in Worcester, Worcestershire, England. It comprises of two nature reserves, a huge open field, busy countryside centre with award winning cafe and easy access from the city or the motorway, make this site very popular. There are two adventure play parks, ancient woodlands to explore and space to fly a kite or have a game of rounders.

The Wyming Brook is a river in the City of Sheffield, England. Its source is the Redmires Reservoirs near the Hallam Moors. It flows in a north-easterly direction for over 0.6 miles down quite steep terrain into an underground chamber where it joins the Rivelin tunnel before it flows into the lower of the Rivelin Dams. A very popular wood, glen and moor with well marked paths for walkers, cyclists and horse-riders alike.