Another very wet and muddy walk for our last field trip of this season. 13 of our group braved the rain for the walk in this remarkable wood.

Its association with 4000 years of our history and the richness of its wildlife make this 165 acre site unique. The Wood has been designated an Ancient Monument and a Site of Special scientific interest, and in 1976 Basildon District Council purchased it, saving it from development as housing. A leaflet about the history and a complete booklet on the reserve can be bought from the Information Centre where an exhibition is on permanent display. Woodland crafts are still practiced and are on show at the annual Open Days.

Soils and Landscape
Much of the woodland covers a high plateau of self drained pebble gravels, overlaying sands. loams and clays. Impermeable London clay occurs in the valley bottoms to the south-west, where spring lines and flushes create permanently clamp habitats. The conditions vary from dry heath on the plateau, through fertile slopes, to acidic bog in the valleys.

Vegetation
The majority of the wood shows evidence of coppicing. Oak, sweet chestnut and hornbearn are common on the better drained soils and alder dominates the damper areas, with ash and willow

Wildlife
Sweet chestnut, introduced to Britain by the Romans, is the main commercial timber. Coups (newly - coppiced areas) are busy with springtime wildlife. Stitchwort, voilets and St.John's wort respond to the increased light levels, with small areas of heather in the permanent clearings. Blackcaps and wrens use the regenerating stools (cult stumps) as nest sites Carpets of bluebells, wood anemone and patches of lily-of-the-valley are indicators of the great age of Norsey.

Larch, a deciduous conifer, was once widely planted. A stand survives to the south of the wood, though the 1987 storm took its toll. Wind-blown timber, alive and dead, creates valuable niches for a host of creatures, from beetles to woodpeckers, and fungi.

The wet valley systems provide ideal conditions for sphagnum mosses, ferns and pendulous sedge. In a dry, flat county like Essex such habitats are rare. Three ponds, in the northern section, also contain valuable wildlife communities. The pale-pink flowers of water violet cover the surface in early June, with bog-bean and scullcap around the edges. Woodland butterflies, brimstone, orange-tip and speckled wood, benefit from sunny openings, like glades and ponds, where the increase in flowers provides a rich source of nectar.

Thanks to Basildon District Council Countryside Services

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