Bottom Wood

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Bottom Wood is a 14.5-hectare (36-acre) woodland in Buckinghamshire, England, just north of the A40 near Studley Green. It is owned by the Chiltern Society, which has run it as a nature reserve with volunteers since 1984. Although it is ancient woodland, most of the trees today grew after the 1940s because much of the original wood was felled during World War II to supply Bryant and May matches.

The wood sits in a valley on a south-facing slope with chalk soil and a central bridleway that used to carry packhorses between Piddington and Oxford. The Toothill plantation in the southeast area covers about 3 hectares and was replanted after a management project in the 1980s. A well in Bottom Wood, 30 metres deep, was an important water source during the 1921 drought and is still present.

Bottom Wood has a long ownership history, from the medieval Fontrevaud Abbey to the Crown, then several noble families and the Wormsley estate, before eventually becoming part of the Chiltern Society’s reserve. In 1984 the society began a programme to demonstrate good woodland management, replant native trees, and protect the reserve.

Today the wood hosts more than 700 plant and animal species. Rare plants include coralroot bittercress and yellow bird’s-nest, and the area is well known for bluebells. The trees include cherry, oak, ash, beech, yew and hornbeam, with hazel in the understory. About 25 butterfly species live here, including grizzled skipper and small blue, and 251 moth species have been recorded. Dormice are monitored as a protected species, and red kites, marsh tits and other birds are often seen. The grey squirrel can damage tree bark, so management works to keep it in check. The site is open to the public and has been used for forest education by Mary Towerton School since 2010.