Charleycombe Wood

Charleycombe Wood lies in a steep valley immediately to the north of the village of Cornworthy near Totnes and is within the South Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The picturesque valley overlooks Bow Creek which is a tributary of the River Dart and is surrounded by pasture and arable farms. Small woodlands characteristically occur on the steeper ground throughout the River Dart catchment. Charleycombe Wood is very varied in terrain; from a steep hill with magnificent distant views towards Dartmoor falling down to a warm and pleasant valley bottom where a stream flows north into Bow Creek. It was planted as broadleaved woodland dominated by oak and ash by the community of Cornworthy in December 1999 as part of the Trust's 'Woods On Your Doorstep' project and has established well. It was previously an improved grassland field on acidic soils bounded by Devon Banks topped with mature mixed species hedgerows and the occasional standard Oak which have now become part of the woodland. The local community were actively engaged in the design process and this is reflected in the wood. The centre of the wood around the stream was left unplanted to replicate similar woods in the area and also to form the basis of the Millennium Feature. This is an area of open space in the centre of the site that has the form of a natural ?amphitheatre?; the base of this area was lightly levelled to form a meeting point for the community and is now well used. Several benches were also installed at the same time.