Marden Park - Woldingham
Site Description
Marden Park and Great Church Wood were acquired by The Woodland Trust in two stages but are now managed as one unit. Together they form the largest Trust property in Surrey, extending to some 67.3 hectares. They are situated at relatively high elevation on the narrow plateau and dip slopes of the North Downs within Green Belt and The Surrey Hills AONB. All the land owned by the Woodland Trust is open to the public and incorporated within the Woldingham and Oxted Downs Site of Special Scientific Interest. A deep railway tunnel lies beneath the site, separating compartments 2 and 3, and an easement over this is owned by Rail track.
Although the legal ownership falls into three separate components for all practical management purposes and public access provision, only compartment 4 is geographically isolated to the west of the main block. Compartment 1 is known as Great Church Wood and compartments 2 to 4 are called Marden Park.
The woodlands vary greatly in character ranging from Ancient Semi Natural Woodlands covering some 16.2 hectares which includes all of Great Church Wood, large expanses of secondary woodland at various stages of development and six areas of recently re-created chalk grassland amounting to 1.6 hectares.
There is a wide variety of tree, shrub and ground flora species many characteristically associated with the calcareous, rendzina soils derived from the underlying chalk bedrock. These include beech, whitebeam, yew, field maple, lime, hornbeam, ash, wayfairing tree and dogs mercury. The chalk grassland areas support some 25 species of butterfly, including the marbled white; and flora of note includes orchids such as bee orchid, greater butterfly orchid and abundant twayblade. The largest of the chalk grassland areas has been stock fenced and is currently grazed on an annual basis with sheep and goats. Apart from the plantations mixed conifers in compartment 4, insignificant areas of sycamore and a small area of cherry laurel in compartment 3, Marden Park and Great Church Wood only comprise native species. Of these, secondary ash woodland, in many areas evolving from dense hawthorn scrub on long-abandoned former grazing land is the dominant component. There is evidence of some historic hazel coppice management, particularly in Great Church Wood.
Some compartments have been silvicultuarlly thinned in the past which has increased light levels for flora in places, encouraged structural diversity and may produce future timber parcels. Natural regeneration of beech and ash is prolific despite the common presence of deer (roe). Large ancient beech trees are to be found scattered all over Marden Park, most notably in Compartments 3 and 4.
A group of enthusiastic volunteers undertake regular practical tasks throughout the year and report problems. Marden Park and Great Church are very popular with members of the public and significant infrastructure improvements have recently been completed to enhance visitors' enjoyment. Access via the Common land through the woodland of Chaldons Farm and a permissive footpath allow people to walk between the geographically separated compartments 3 and 4 of Marden Park. There are three areas to safely park cars, including a car-park which is mostly owned by Rail track. The public bridleway is surfaced and some 780 metres of permissive bridleway have been created and surfaced to allow riders an alternative, safer route than the public road. Five interpretation boards have been erected and there is a way marked long distance footpath, the North Downs Way, which passes the length of compartment 4 and a network of public and permissive footpaths extending to some 10.9 km are maintained and signposted.
