Woodland Wood is located in the north of Plymouth immediately south of Whitleigh and north of Honicknowle. Although surrounded by housing, once you're in the wood you feel like you're in the middle of the country!
Covering 29 hectares (that's about 29 full-sized football pitches), Woodland Wood is a large green space where you can walk, play and explore nature.
Woodland Wood has some beautiful woodland to stroll through, alongside a stream which runs through to Tamerton Creek. It is a designated Local Nature Reserve and home to a variety of wildlife.
The most recent improvements to the site done by the Stepping Stones to Nature project have included creating paths accessible for wheelchairs and buggies, new signage designed by Shakespeare Primary School children, picnic tables, an orienteering course, a story telling chair and seating as well as a range of natural play features designed by Brooks Green Centre for Learning.
Why not take the family for a walk along our self-guided nature trail?
Wildlife
The site provides a valuable landscape and biodiversity resource for the area and contains a number of habitats including woodland, hedgerows, meadows and a stream.
Species we've spotted include:
- Wildflowers like red bartsia, yellow rattle, bird's-foot trefoil, bluebells and wild garlic
- Great spotted woodpecker
- Badger
Access and management documents:
Walks and features
- Picnic area and wooden climbing frame at the meadow near Ringmore Way entrance
- Den building frames near Ringmore Way entrance
- Storytelling Chair with seating area near Ringmore Way entrance
- Network of paths throughout the site
- Follow the blue markers for a circular route to explore the younger woodland, the path surface is firm and mostly flat, it's a steady one hour walk (about 2km)
- Follow the red markers for a circular route through the woods, the path has mostly firm, flat surfaces, but is muddy and uneven in places, there are two sets of steps marked on the map, it's a steady 45-minute walk (about 1.5km)
- Join up with the Co-op Way, a 14-mile walk that runs around Plymouth, look out for waymarkers to show you the route
- Woodland Fort, a Scheduled Ancient Monument and one of the Palmerston Forts is right next to the wood
- Benches throughout the reserve
- Picnic area at the meadow near Ringmore Way entrance
- Basic orienteering course with permanent markers
- Self-guided nature trail for families
Remember this is a Local Nature Reserve, please be considerate to wildlife and to other users:
- Don't pick wildflowers or plants
- Don't disturb animals
- Take your litter home
- Keep dogs under control
- Keep dogs out of the stream area
- Clean up after your dogs
- No camping
- No motorbikes
- No fires
Access
- Steps and steep slopes at most entrances
Travel and directions
- 350m from Whitleigh Green Shops on Budshead Road
- Accessible using public transport with bus stops along Crownhill Road to the south of the reserve, Budshead Road to the west of the reserve and Bodmin Road to the north of the reserve
- No official car park (some car parking available in Woodland Fort, Ringmore Way (next to playing field) and adjacent roads)