Old Copse - Sonning Common

Site Description

Old Copse is a 12.46 ha. woodland on the edge of Sonning Copse in Oxfordshire within the Chiltern Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and acquired by the Woodland Trust in 1995. It is believed to be an ancient, semi-natural wood and is bordered by strips of secondary woodland on the north east and southern sides. On the north west side, the wood borders a road and gardens back onto the south eastern edge.

The woodland is characterised by mature beech trees which were originally planted for the local furniture industry and to supply the handles for a brush factory nearby at Stoke Row. The north eastern edge of the wood was felled and replanted in 1983 with an interesting mixture of species including European Larch, Western Red Cedar, oak, beech and wild cherry. In the late 1980's, the woodland was thinned leaving the tall beech trees growing there today. The understorey is made up mostly of holly bushes which can tolerate the high amounts of shade under beech trees, except where mature trees have fallen to create glades and helped to promote natural regeneration (mostly beech).

There is some woodland archaeology present in Old Copse including a very distinct woodbank separating the site from the strips of secondary woodland, a small enclosure within the wood and some other features such as sawpits. The underlying geology is plateau gravel providing a stony, acidic soil.

The woodland is very accessible from Sonning Common and there are several entrances to the woodland, from Woodlands Road and Shiplake Bottom and several paths including four public footpaths cross the site.