Oxshott Heath and Woods

Content sourced from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

Oxshott Heath and Woods is a 200-acre area of woods and heathland in Oxshott, Surrey, England. It is common land owned by the local council. Since the late 1800s, local landowners in Oxshott parish have shared rights to access the land and to collect dead wood for fires. The area was created from the eastern part of Stoke D'Abernon, which was sparsely populated before Oxshott railway station was built.

The site covers about 0.81 square kilometres. The landscape is shaped where London Clay meets a layer of sand or sandstone, and the sand emerges at the surface in places. A tall sand escarpment gives views toward Box Hill. The lightly raised summit has a war memorial. Oxshott Heath and Woods is part of Esher Commons and is designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). The woods contain a mix of deciduous and coniferous trees depending on the soil.

The area is bordered to the south by the New Guildford Line (the local railway), to the east by the A244 (Esher to Leatherhead), to the north by Portsmouth Road (with Esher Commons beyond), and to the west by Oxshott village.

Oxshott Woods offers a range of walks, from easy to more challenging on the escarpment. Unlike nearby Esher Commons, Oxshott Heath is managed by a board of conservators set up under the Commons Act 1876 and confirmed by a 1904 order. It remains common land, with rights to use firewood for certain households, as long as it is not misused.

In 1935, a circular Anglo-Saxon bronze brooch from the early 10th century was found here and is now in the British Museum; it is believed to be English-made and features fine snakes carved into it. In 2007, plans for major tree felling were scaled back.