Yeo Valley Woodland
Yeo Valley Woodland Home Page
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The Yeo Valley Woodland site is situated on the edge of Barnstaple in North Devon. Map grid reference SS 572 338. It is bordered by the Silverwood Heights development to the west and the Gorwell estate to the south along which runs an ancient road. The north and east sides of the site is land which is farmed. There is no parking on site and visitors are encouraged to visit on foot or cycle. Even so it is only a 10/15 minute walk from Barnstaple town centre.
The land was formally split into a number of fields and encompasses a total area of 28 acres. The plans for the site include planting of a woodland, restoring some of the ancient hedgerows, developing educational and leisure facilities whilst managing the needs of the local wildlife.
It is estimated that 11000 native trees will be planted with a 60/40% split of open space to allow for wild flower meadows. Future plans could include developing the well area, converting the spring into a wild life pond, and making the site more accessible. The group are working closely with South West Forest who will provide training, guidance and funding.
The larger historic map, dating back to the nineteenth century, shows that the green lane on the southern boundary was a road coming out of Barnstaple just past the Yeo Valley site. It continues as a track way across fields to the north-east towards Stoneyard Farm where the track ends.
It is thought that the farmer used the road to bring in provisions and/or take goods to market. The first road leading off to the right was the driveway for Gorwell House and the second track way off to the right went across fields on the estate, this eventually joined the main Yeo Valley road to the south and continued towards Chelfham. As there was a cobbled surface to the road, at least at the western end, with its narrow width and sunken appearance, together with the veteran ash tree on its hedge bank, all this suggest that it is likely to be an ancient route way.
Having checked the Historic Landscape Characterisation mapping for the area it confirms that the former field boundaries in the project area were part of a large medieval field system based on strip field cultivation. The green lane is also likely to be medieval in origin since it follows a similar alignment to the field system and is surrounded by blocks of linear strip fields on both sides.
