Savernake Forest Management

We will be working from now for the coming weeks, to carry out planned forest management.

We will be carrying out several pieces of work:

We will be thinning trees in several parts of the forest including Great Lodge Bottom, Cheval Bottom, Ashlade Firs, and on the northern side of the A4.

We will be looking for opportunities to open up space around some of Savernake’s 4000 ancient and veteran trees, including some potential veterans of the future.

In some high footfall areas, we will be removing ash trees that are showing signs of chalara ash dieback. This is for public safety because ash dieback causes trees to become brittle, and they can drop limbs or fall altogether.

We are starting work now to take advantage of the dry weather we have had and the suitable ground conditions. This helps to protect Savernake’s irreplaceable soils. Some of this work has been delayed by two years because we do not work when the ground becomes too wet and risks compacting the soil.

There is more detail about this work on our website at https://www.forestryengland.uk/article/forestry-operations-savernake-forest

The forest is still open to visitors. We will try to keep disruption to a minimum but there will be times when we will need to close access around the forest so we can work safely nearby. We are asking forest visitors to follow all signs and instructions at all times. These are for your safety, whether or not you can see or hear us working. This will help us to finish working as quickly as possible.