Find a wood near you - New website launched listing 14,000 woods in the UK to visit

New website maps 14,000 UK woods to visit

New website helps people find and experience the beauty of spring by mapping 14,000 UK woods

February 2011. Following a winter that brought some of the heaviest snowfalls on record, early Spring signs are appearing a little late this year. However, sightings of snowdrops, frogspawn, rooks nesting, butterflies, hazel flowers and celandines have now all been recorded - welcome signs of Spring for many people.

Woods are a great place for families to enjoy time outdoors together and to witness the beauty of Spring's arrival. www.VisitWoods.org.uk - developed by the Woodland Trust in partnership with other leading organisations such as the Forestry Commission, the National Trust, Wildlife Trusts and RSPB - will ensure that no one who wants to see Spring's early signs will miss out. Anyone can enter a postcode and generate a map of all woods in the surrounding area that are open to visit, regardless of who owns them.

14,000 woodlands mapped
www.VisitWoods.org.uk maps nearly 14,000 woodlands across the UK giving easy access to information on nearly all publicly accessible woods. It is the UK's first interactive website to bring all major woodland-owning organisations into one searchable database. It will enable people to find their nearest accessible wood and directions to it. Visitors keen to share their experience can attribute various features and facilities to the woods they've visited, as well as uploading photographs, recommendations and comments to the site. In this way, the public will help to build an essential portal, contributing to a richer experience for everyone.

Find a wood to suit you
There are also inspirational ideas on the site to help people make the most of their visit to the woods including downloadable spotter sheets to help identify Spring signs - a great half term activity for kids. They can even record those Spring signs and contribute to the Trust's Nature's Calendar survey.

A Woodland Trust report revealed that over 33 million people in the UK live within just 4km of a publicly accessible wood but a nationwide survey showed a major barrier to people actually visiting and enjoying woodland was the lack of information available. www.VisitWoods.org.uk evolved out of research showing that 66 per cent of people get their leisure information via the web. Its creation has been made possible by funding of £1.2 million from Natural England's Access to Nature scheme, which is funded by the Big Lottery Fund.

Ann Widdecombe, former MP, said: "VisitWoods is a fantastic website full of useful information and inspiring ideas to enable everyone to get out and enjoy the woods near to them. It's easy to use and surprising just how many woods you can find within a few miles of almost anywhere. Woods are great places to be active and perfect for relaxing walks - I found walking in the woods a great way to unwind after my gruelling Strictly schedule!"

Gail Graham, project manager for VisitWoods, said: "VisitWoods is a great way for people to discover the woods close to their homes, and with lots of great ideas and resources we hope it will inspire them to try something new."

The VisitWoods project is also working with a number of partner organisations representing disadvantaged young people, families, older people and people with disabilities, as well as the wider public to open up the benefits of woodland to new audiences. 

Credenhill Woods near Hereford.