The Royal Forest of Whittlewood was a medieval hunting forest and contains many remnants of the area's ancient woodlands. Today the forest consists of a core of ancient woodlands and stone built villages to the west of Silverstone, and scattered remants across to Milton Keynes.
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Medieval Northamptonshire was dominated by the king’s forests. At their height, during the late 12th and 13th centuries, the royal forests of Rockingham, Salcey and Whittlewood extended in an unbroken band from the River Welland in the north to the Great Ouse in the south, encompassing about half of the total area of Northamptonshire. This does not mean that about half of the county was covered by woodland, but that this was the area subject to forest law. Thus, not only heaths, parks and woods, but also many of Northamptonshire’s towns and villages, together with their fields of arable and pasture, fell within the jurisdiction of the king’s forest officials. This was a substantial tract of countryside. Across England as a whole during this period, no more than a third of the country’s land area lay within the boundaries of the royal forest. Northamptonshire was, therefore, affected more than most counties by the imposition of forest law.
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Hazelborough Wood is an ancient woodland site with both majestic oak and younger conifer plantations. The wood is gradually being restored to native broadleaf woodland under the 'Ancient Woodland Project'. The wood is accessed from the slip road off the A43 Silverstone bypass, as you head towards Northampton. Here you will find a new car park, plus a leaflet dispenser containing copies of "Ancient Woodland Project News", and the Forest Life magazine. Or at least it did before it was vandalised... :-(
If you are quiet as you walk through the wood, especially at dawn or dusk, you may see the shy roe and fallow deer, or the small muntjac. Many, many badgers live here, as does the delightful dormouse:
A rare protected species of dormouse was found in an area of the wood scheduled for felling as part of the A43 Towcester to M40 dualling project. In consultation with the Forestry Commission, English Nature and the Northamptonshire Dormice Group, it was decided to attempt to encourage the dormice to move further back into the wood away from the area that needed to be felled. The surrounding woodland was improved to make it into an appropriate dormouse habitat and a phased felling of woodland took place over two years. The disturbance from the work gradually moved the dormice into their newly prepared habitat. English Nature has recommended this strategy for potential use in similar situations.
I've not been able to verify the expense of this exercise - but local rumour is that the total cost worked out at approximately £10,000 per dormouse...