Pit Wood History Part I

 Pit Wood History Part I

Pit Wood was acquired over the winter of 2010/11. I was made redundant and used my redundancy money to fund the purchase. The wood consisted of 5 distinct areas, on the Trent flood plain. It has a total area of about 7 acres. I was aware much of it flooded in 2000.

Pit Wood lies near the villages of Low Marnham and Normanton on Trent. It is about a mile west of the Trent and 4 miles East of the A1. 

Pit Wood. A Rural Payments Agency
map. The green areas are wooded and
the yellow pasture. The numbers are
 reference numbers and red stars an
 unfenced boundary.
 (not visible on Ariel image) 

There are five compartments in Pit Wood. When Purchased in the spring of 2011 they consisted of:-

1. Triangular: An improved hay meadow.

2. Shelter Belt: A strip of mainly Common Alder on the East side of a ditch, with a few conifers at the two ends. Planted in the 1970's.

3. Rectangular: An improved hay meadow.

4. Mixed: Planted in 1970's mainly Scots Pine with a few European Larch, Norway Spruce and Sweet Chestnut. This planting is the same as the two bocks outlined in green to the north, which are not part of the wood. The two small areas to the north outlined in green are not part of Pit Wood but were planted at the same with the same mixture as the Mixed wood. They were used to raise Pheasants.

5. Plantation: Planted 1970's Dominated by rows of Sycamore with rows of Red and English Oak. Rows of Grey Alder by the stream along it's eastern boundary. 

The first action in spring 2011 was to plant the Triangular field. Sweet Chestnut had appeared to do quite well in the Mixed area, Ash is the main hedgerow plant they were joined by Alder near the ditch, as well as Eucalyptus and Robinia to provide a contrast.