Alvecote Wood
During the COVID lockdown we made a video tour that shows the Woods in the Spring of 2020. I hope you enjoy it:
HOUSING DEVELOPMENT
MAY 2024 UPDATE
Click to see the latest news on the worrying housing proposal next to the woods
EVENTS
OPEN DAYS
Please click for more details
Download our
VISITOR LEAFLET (pdf)
OPEN EVENINGS
Click here for more details.
*2024 CALENDAR*
The Alvecote Wood Calendar has sold out - Sorry. Please see our Products page for more information.
Alvecote Wood was featured in the Quarterly Journal of Forestry from the Royal Forestry Society in April 2014 - pdf here.
Alvecote Wood in 1650
Read about our reconstruction of the land around Alvecote Wood in 1650 and view the map of the area at that time
Alvecote Wood was officially voted the best managed small woodland in England in the Royal Forestry Society Best of England awards 2014! Read more on our news page, and read our story in the Quarterly Journal of Forestry
Listen to Farming Today from BBC Radio 4 from our woods, October 2015.
Take our video tour with Sarah's commentary to see our beautiful woods:
Introduction
In July 2007, Stephen was riding past a neglected piece of woodland near Tamworth in Staffordshire, a piece of woodland that had intrigued us both for a number of years and which Stephen had been interested in buying some years ago, but missed the opportunity.
Then he spotted a "For Sale" sign in the ditch and thought he'd missed the opportunity again! ...But he hadn't. After checking with local conservation groups and dialogue with the owners that ended with a nervous wait for the sealed-bid auction results, we became the proud owners of 11 acres of ancient semi-natural woodland in the far North of Warwickshire, consisting of some 150 or more large oak trees and a variety of other tree species, in October 2007. Little did we know how much this would change our lives!
In October 2010 we managed to purchase an additional 9 acres of adjacent arable field, and planted this with over 5500 native trees, another 500+ naturally-regenerating trees, new hedgerow, wildflower meadows and ponds to create Betty's Wood, and to link Alvecote Wood with other wildlife sites in the area as part of a larger landscape-scale conservation project.
Very sadly, Sarah passed away in 2018 but Stephen vowed to continue with our passion at the Woods. It was extremely tough for a long time as memories of things that Sarah and I had done together were everywhere through the Woods. I persevered, but then had unbelievably good fortune when I met Rosie (thanks, eHarmony!!!). She has been an absolute trooper ever since, supporting me but also helping me to improve the way we manage the Woods. Rosie's insight and clear thinking have been the trigger for several improvements in recent years. When Sarah passed away and I was struggling my way through life, the Woods and work, I thought I was the unluckiest guy in the world. After meeting Rosie, I now think my life has flipped and I am now the luckiest guy in the world!
This web site tells the story of Alvecote Wood, and our newly acquired adjacent site of Betty's Wood - what we know of its history, its wildlife, and of our efforts to preserve and develop this site for wildlife and for the local community.
We have a programme of OPEN DAYS We also have a range of photographic prints, cards and other products offered for sale during public Open Days.
Please also see our site plan (pdf) and visitor information leaflet (pdf)
Our latest news is on Facebook. We have also published some thought-provoking articles on our blog - please dip in and share our thoughts. Sarah also posted a lot of photos on our Flickr site.