Monks Wood - Wick, Bridgend

Site Description

Monks wood is a relatively small site, planted in November 2000, and located in a mostly un-wooded landscape that slopes gently westwards towards the sea. The site was planted with native broadleaved trees and shrubs by the residents of the town of Wick, situated approximately 1.5 miles to the northeast. This planting was carried out under The Woodland Trust’s Woods On Your Doorstep scheme and jointly run between The Woodland Trust and the Monks Wood Committee, comprising local people.

The woodland meets the Woodland Trust objective of increasing enjoyment of woodland and is reflected in the Key Features of the site, which are new community woodland and informal public access. Ash is the most commonly planted species, in addition to field maple, rowan and willow.

A wide and regularly mown permissive path traces a circular route around the site and joins up with a public footpath running along the southern boundary, by which the site may be accessed from Wick. A bench may be found within a patch of open ground at the higher western end of the site and provides good views of the surrounding countryside. In addition to this, a pond is situated at the wetter northern end of the site adjacent to an area of willow planting and provides an attractive visitor feature, as well as increasing the site’s ecological diversity.