BIRCHANGER WOOD lies between the north-eastern edge of Bishop's Stortford and the village of Birchanger, on the border between Hertfordshire and Essex. It is an ancient wood, rich in wildlife, now 69 acres but formerly much larger, having been part of the manor of St Valery at the time of William the Conqueror. Subsequently the Wood was among the lands with which New College Oxford was endowed, and it remained in the College’s possession until the latter part of the 19th century.
In the 1970s, the Wood was purchased in several portions from private owners by a group of local councils supported by donations from other contributors. It was passed to The Birchanger Wood Trust, who now manage the woodland. Cache placed with the kind permission of the Trust.